The Fox and the Dragon
by XGaaraxloverX
Summary: The Spirit gang are off to take down a powerful Black Fire demon. Hiei ends up severely injured, and it is up to the gang to help him. Following the events of his injuries, Hiei starts to develop strange symptoms. Will Kurama find out what is wrong before Yusuke does? Kurama YoukoXHiei, KuramaXHiei, YusukeXHiei, KuwabaraXHiei, Yaoi, Rivalry, Bondage, BDSM, Language.
1. Chapter 1: Painful Reminders

A flash of black darted through the tree limbs, stopping on an unusually taller tree branch.

The short-stature figure in a black cloak with a white scarf blinked his eyes opened to scan the area. Even without his third eye, he could easily scan the horizon for his next target.

Hiei, a demon well worthy of the title of S class, had to work with a team today, sadly. Yusuke, Kurama, and the Baka (AKA Kuwabara) were trailing behind, while Hiei sped ahead.

There was nothing more that the half-koorime wanted to do than to find a nice spot within the ningen to take a nap, instead he is out here doing another mission made by that absurd toddler of the over-world.

The hunt this time was a supposed spirit beast that had to be taken down immediately, threatening the human, demon, and spirit world alike.

"Hn." Hiei breathed out. This was probably one of those tall tales that Koenma talked about. He was desperate to get the entire gang together and bring down this beast. It couldn't have been THAT dangerous to have summoned three S class demons and a buffoon to take it down. Well, at least it would be done quickly so that he can get back to his relaxing nap.

A blue glow emitted from underneath the cloth around his forehead. Closing his natural eyes, he could concentrate his sight out of the Jagan eye. The sense is magnetized to a whole new perspective. Able to see miles of terrain and able to pinpoint where his destination is.

Suddenly, he spotted it. A strange mix of ki was emitting from a cave just a few miles northeast of where he was. Looking further into the cave, he spotted a creature that he has never encountered before. It was small in size, and his power seemed similar to a D class demon, but there was something strange about his ki.

Not taking a chance, Hiei darted off towards his newest target, feeling his gangs energy catching up to him, and hopefully having the smarts to fallow him.

~O~

Kurama's nose wiggled slightly, "I believe Hiei has found something." The redhead called back to Yusuke, sniffing the air again, and following the fire demons trail.

"Alright, nice going, guys! We'll have this beast clobbered in no time!" The slick-backed hair leader said with a grin, running alongside his two companions.

Kuwabara blinked, "How can you tell, just by the scent, Kurama?" He was the last to follow the three ahead, making sure to be the team backup.

The half-breed smirked, "Hiei's scent is easy to follow, and the flare in ki allows me to keep track of his emotions. He purposefully did that to leave a trail for us."

The carrot-haired man hummed to himself, trying for a moment to see if he could sniff out the smaller demon in vain. All he could smell around him was the forest and the scent of trees. It amazed him to a certain extent that Kurama could still have his trained sense of smell even in his human form. He couldn't imagine how strong his ability would work in his actual demon form. "Wow, Kurama that is really cool that you know Hiei's scent like that. I can feel his ki flare up, but it isn't as strong as when he is near.

Green eyes blinked when he felt Hiei's ki flare up once again. Hiei had stopped, and from the scent, appeared to be around 10 miles away. It would probably take them about thirty minutes to reach him from where they are at now. Not that Kurama couldn't easily catch up to him; he had to take in consideration his teammates. Kuwabara was still a human, and couldn't run as fast as he and Yusuke could. If they darted off without him, he would lose them easily in this forest. "I have been around him long enough to memorize his scent. I know when he is happy, sad, angry, and even injured based on scent alone. I even memorized yours and Yusuke's scent as well, Kuwabara."

"Heh, you know Kurama, I am starting to get this whole smelling thing too since becoming a half-bred demon. Although, not as strong as yours, of course. Maybe we can share some pointers, eh?" Yusuke half-joked. He could feel Hiei a little bit, although he was very far away, and it was hard to make out. It seemed that the centuries old fox had gotten the best of him in this round.

"Really? Aww awesome! Man, I wish I had those kind of abilities, all I have is a very strong sixth sense." Kuwabara sighed. It really wasn't fair that all of his teammates had something very special about them, and he seemed to be just an ordinary human. Hiei had the ability to summon a deadly black dragon from the pits of demon world at his control. Kurama is a centuries old fox demon with the amazing ability to control plants of all kinds. And Yusuke is half-bred royalty from a demon lord.

"Nonsense, Kuwabara! Remember when you tore down that gate between human and demon world? Even the highest class of demons couldn't break that thing, and you come along and take one good swipe with your sword and BAM!" Yusuke said as he pretended to swing an imaginary sword. Everyone in his team was precious to him in some way. That doesn't exclude Kuwabara because he isn't a demon. He was, probably, one of the reasons why he has come so far as a spirit detective. Without him, he would be nothing.

Suddenly, a chill ran through the orange-haired man. "Whoa! Do you feel that guys?" He said, slowing down his running a bit. "It feels kind of like Hiei. Did he find the thing that we are looking for?"

Kurama grew serious, "I am not sure. I hope that he isn't planning to face that beast alone. We must hurry!" Hiei was sometimes a little too headstrong, trying to do everything for himself, without the aid of his friends.

"Yeah, fox-boy is right. Come on guys; let's kick it up a notch." Yusuke said, as he and Kurama upped their pace. He had to hurry and get to his teammate. He wished that Hiei would stay with them, but there was no convincing that hardheaded demon.

"H-Hey! Guys, wait up will ya!?"

~O~

A rustle of grass was met with the small echo of the cave entrance. The small fire demon entered the dark cave with his head held high. Something was in here, and he was going to kill it himself. He could feel his team, a few miles away and wouldn't be reaching him for a few minutes. That is all it would take him to finish this beast. He would slay it before they even arrived.

The sound of his boots, as he walked, echoed from the cavern walls, signaling his presence to the creature that lay in the darkness. Hiei wasn't one to sneak his way and attack, like Kurama would so foolishly do. He made sure that his enemies saw him as he spill their guts. It has always been like that for him. Why hide? It ruins the fun.

Silently, the smaller demon continued through the darkness. He could feel the mass of energy getting stronger, the more he progressed. It wasn't hard to tell that the beast knew he was there, as a light growl emitted over the sound of Hiei's walking.

Through his cloak, Hiei ran a thumb over the hilt of his sword, hanging over his left hip. He would quickly take out the creature with a quick swipe of his sword, and if that fails, then finish him off with the black dragon. He was missing his chance to take a nap, and he was already feeling a bit grouchy. "Why don't you just come out now, and save the trouble of me hunting you down?" Hiei spat venomously at the hiding demon.

The cave illuminated, and Hiei stopped, as he saw the beast that needed to be slain. The demon's entire body was made, what looked to be, of the darkness flame that Hiei was so fond of using. The four-legged creature had four deadly sharp claws on each flaming paw, and a spiked tail to match. It had a horn in the middle of its forehead, and sharp fangs that adorned its features. Although it looked formidable, it looked no bigger than the size of a large-breed canine.

A grin spread onto the half-koorime's face as he easily reached over and pulled out his katana. "I feel pity for you; I will make this quick." With a crouching stance, in the blink of an eye, Hiei was gone and appeared in front of the small creature, swiping his sword at its throat.

Without warning, the flaming demon reached around and bit onto the sword with a loud snarl, its teeth shattering the steel katana like a porcelain artifact. Blood red eyes widened slightly, as he leaped back, as a clawed paw reached for him with speed nearly matching Hiei's.

Landing on a raised rock surface, crouching, Hiei pulled the handle of his blade to his face to examine the damage. The sword was no longer attached, and what remained was the handle with a small piece of steel at the end. Throwing it aside, hearing it clack against the cavern wall, Hiei "hn"-ed softly and stood slowly. "It has been a while since I have used my dragon. Consider yourself honored to have witnessed it before it devours your entire being."

Reaching his left hand over to his right, he unraveled the bandages he keeps over his permanent scar of the dragon that he consumed on his arm. The creature roared, claws scratching at the ground like an angry bull, and lowering its head like it is ready to charge.

As the final wrappings of his arm drooped to the floor, the dragon shaped scar seemed to come alive, and wrap around his entire being. Black flames etched around the fire demon, burning off his headband and shirt in the process, showing off an opened Jagan eye. The smallest of the two demons roared and charged as Hiei did the same. Pulling his arm back, "Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" then shoving it forward, the dragon beast emitted a demonic howl that echoed loudly in the cave, shaking the earth.

Everything was a black haze when the two beasts collided. A deafening and high pitch ringing bled through Hiei's ears, as he felt the dragon make its mark. His newly drained body, quivered in place as he knelt to regain his sense of balance and from falling over.

Soon, he would have to hibernate and hoped that his team would get here before he would go out like a light. The entire cave still had a thick reminiscent haze of the dragons black fire, and probably the ashen from the creature that was sacrificed to it.

A stinging silence rang through the cave, as Hiei struggled to get his bearings, and stand up straight. Suddenly, a clawed paw reached him, as he blinked, jumping away from the swipe. "What the…?!" Hiei said sharply, as the fog cleared, showing the same creature, only much larger than he last remembered. It was the size of an elephant at best.

The fire demon hissed, as he felt pain on his chest. The soft sound of blood splatting on the ground below him, tapped in a generous rhythm as it dripped from his body. Looking down, Hiei noticed three large gashes across his torso. Luckily, they were not deep, but any deeper and he would be dead.

"I-Impossible…" Hiei whispered to himself, as he saw the, now larger, demon raise its head and let out a roar that shook the entire cave, even managing to make the smaller of the two stumble. "_It somehow seemed to absorb my dragon, and used it to gain its own strength."_ The half-koorime thought, as he regained his strong stance.

Did the creature absorb his energy entirely? Perhaps it uses its opponent's ki against them, growing in strength and size when attacked. It seems that he had underestimated his opponent, slightly. Kurama's way of fighting would have provided a better chance, it seems. Although, Hiei would not even come close to surrendering this fight. He has never done so in the past and plans not to start now.

White hot flames enveloped his hands; if this doesn't work, then he would be left to deal with the beast with his bare hands. "Fists of the Mortal Flame!" Hiei darted quickly onto the back of the large demon and struck it in the back of the head with lightning fast punches. Quickly, Hiei disappeared before a swinging tail nearly struck him, landing a good few meters away, stumbling slightly.

A growl left his lips, as he noticed that the demon seemed unaffected by the attack, and stomped angrily. Its claws dug into the rock and its tail swung back in place behind it. Now it was the creatures turn.

Charging after the small demon, it reached down with sharp fangs. Hiei growled again, as he dodged the attack, leaping up to avoid the huge mass and teeth that threatened to tear him apart. He was at a loss. How was he supposed to defeat this beast? There was no way he would be able to use his own bodily strength because of his mass and size. It would be no effect.

A large mass appeared and struck him, the sharp bladed spikes stabbed deeply into his abdomen and waist, as his body was propelled backward and into the nearest cavern wall. The minute his back hit the solid rock, the youkai's breath shot out of his body, as he fell to the ground. Hiei's pants were shredded where the blades met his skin, and a few of his trademark belts were snapped, broken apart.

For a moment, his exhausted body collapsed, his hibernation knocking at him to rest. Hiei forced his eyes opened and desperately pulled himself to his hands and knees. Crimson eyes glared down the seemingly unbeatable creature that looked to be gloating. How was he going to kill this beast? His Black Dragon didn't work, and neither did his sword or Mortal Flame.

A loud roar emitted from the demon, happy with its new-found prey. Stalking over to the helpless and crippled demon, it licked its chops, a nasty purple tongue graced over sharp fangs, as drool leaked from its mouth.

"Great…" Hiei thought. "I am going to be eaten alive and killed by a ningenkai beast…" His body shook, as he bleeds out on the stony surface. He had never felt so vulnerable before. He is at the complete mercy of this creature, on his hands and knees, bleeding to death. An arm reached up to wrap around his stomach, feeling the holes in his body, and the organs that threatened to spill out if any sudden movement is made. He was in no condition to use his super-speed anymore.

The elephant-sized demon seemed to grin, as he stopped in front of his helpless prey. With a final lunge it bared its fangs and growled out loudly to eat its newest meal.

"Spirit Gun!"

Hiei deemed to accept his fate, until he heard a familiar voice. Darting his head over to the newest trio that entered the cave, all he managed to see was a large energy ball aiming his way, towards the beast. He tried to scream out against the attack, but it would have been futile since the shot was already fired.

The blast was so strong; it knocked the beast hard into the wall, making the cave shake and rocks from the ceiling collapse on top of it. The half-koorime blinked at the attack, although pain brought him back into the world of reality quickly, as he grunted, biting his bottom lip.

"Hiei!" Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara yelled out as they ran towards their injured friend.

"Damn Hiei, you couldn't keep your sword in your pants could ya shorty?!" Yusuke knelt down to assess the damage done to his favorite little demon, reaching a hand out to pull the others arm over his shoulder.

"Y-You stupid… fool…" Hiei managed, as he coughed. Blood splattered onto the floor, as he tried to breathe through his burning lungs.

Immediately after Hiei spoke, the cavern rumbled again, and a loud and vicious growl emitted from the pile of rocks that contained the beast. "W-What, what the hell was that!?" Kuwabara shook slightly, pulling out his trusty Spirit Sword.

Kurama didn't need to look over Hiei to know the damage. Just from the scent he could tell that he was near death. "Yusuke, we have to get him out of here." Reaching behind his head and under his hair, he pulled out a seed. Concentrating his ki into it, it bloomed into his hand, and he plucked off a leaf. The plant receded and turned back into a seed as he put it back. He knelt down and put it up to Hiei's mouth. "Eat this, Hiei, it will help stop the bleeding."

The injured male growled and jerked his head away, immediately regretting it as it made him a bit dizzy. "Get that vile thing away from me, F-Fox…" it was difficult not to stutter, the sheer amount of blood loss was affecting his speech.

This time, a roar followed by a loud crash, echoed throughout the cave as the rocks that held the beast erupted in a bout of black flames. The terrifying creature glowed anew with vigor as it arose from its shallow grave, its sight set on the three newcomers that dare to interrupt its meal.

"H-Holy shit! What is that thing!" Kuwabara freaked, as he backed away to get a better look at the new bigger than before monster. It looked to be the size of a house, and it was so tall that it had to crouch as to not hit its head on the ceiling. "Uh, guys, I think we should take Hiei and run."

Yusuke blinked at the comment that Hiei made earlier to him. Not listening to it, he ignored his little friend, and hoisted him up to carry him, bridle style, as to not aggravate his wounds. "He's right, let's get out of here." He claimed, looking at the terrifying beast. If they had the space to battle then he could attempt his Spirit Gun again, but he could have sworn that the creature grew in size.

The smaller demon grit his teeth, when Yusuke held him. He wasn't a damsel in distress, he could walk if needed. "P-Put me down, Detective…! I am capable of… ugh… w-walking!" He could hear the stomping of the enemy behind them, through the slight ringing in his ears. He had to let them know that they couldn't use their ki on it.

Yusuke chuckled slightly, making a run for it with Kurama and Kuwabara for the exit of the cave. "Sorry, Hiei. But I may never get this chance again to see you like this. I have to make it last." The humor in his statement sent a surge of anger through the smaller demon. He thought this was funny?

"Enough tormenting him Yusuke, please. He is seriously wounded." Kurama's soft voice chimed in over the sound of the monster and their running feet. He could feel the flare in ki, and it made him have a small sense of relief that his friend still had the strength to do that. Although, it still brought worry as well, that at any moment he would draw his last breath.

The passageway narrowed to a bright opening, as they ran, fanning out when they reached the entrance. Yusuke held tighter onto the injured demon in his grasp, as he stood behind Kurama and Kuwabara, their weapons at the ready.

"D-Detective, you have to listen… to me… Don't use-"

A loud roar interrupted the youkai, and the entrance of the cave was obliterated. The black flamed creature stretched its body out and let out a screech, finally able to have the space it needed to stand upright. With a dog-like shake, it turned its attention on the four that stood against him. The demon being held was supposed to be his dinner, and an angry flash of red darkened his white eyes. It charged at the three, and they all scattered in different directions.

Yusuke leaped back, trying to use the trees as a hiding spot. "What is it Hiei? Do you know a way to beat this thing?" The slick-haired leader said quietly as he tried to stay low for Hiei's sake. There was no way he would leave the little fire demon like this. It seemed that the black-fire creature was solely after him.

Hiei growled, gripping a deep gash on his side, as it was jostled from the sudden movements that Yusuke made. "I s-said, don't use your energy…! It will use it against you…!" He shakily said, panting slightly after his outburst. His eyelids grew heavy from his delayed hibernation, but he couldn't sleep now. Not while his friends were risking their lives to fight off a seemingly impenetrable demon.

The spirit detective's eyebrows creased together with worry, for both the opponent and Hiei's condition. Just by looking at him, he looked like he could drop dead at any moment. "Ah, well that explains why he got so big when I shot my Spirit Gun at him." Looking back at the huge creature, Kurama and Kuwabara were busy distracting it. "How in the hell are we supposed to beat this thing?!" He asked himself loudly, glancing over at Hiei.

Yusuke's heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw those eyes closed. "H-Hiei?" He was overly pale, and lay still in his arms, not a single movement from him. "H-Hey! Don't do this to me now, Hiei!" Anger and panic quickly rose with a large flare of ki that caught everyone's attention, including the house-sized demon.

Kurama's eyes widened at the new scent that invaded his nose. "_He's fading!"_ The redhead thought with wide eyes. His mind screamed at him to rush over to him, before it was too late, but the growling chuckle caught his attention. That beast was on the move towards where Hiei and Yusuke lay. Before a thought crossed his mind, he pulled out a rose and charged his ki in it, turning it into his signature Rose Whip.

The thorny lead wrapped itself around the creature's horn, and Kurama landed on the back of its head, pulling with all of his might to lead the attention to him. The demon roared angrily, rearing up like a stallion, moving its attention to the lowly human.

Yusuke gripped the cold body of the fire demon tightly. There was no way. No way in hell that their ruthless little koorime could fall like this. Yet, here he was. Laying in his arms, bloodied and wounded, completely still. How could this have happened? If only he was quicker, then he could have made it in time to save him. "Hiei…"

A lone tear flew down the detectives face, landing on the little dragons face with a light plop. Lifting the lightweight, Yusuke walked over to the nearest tree trunk and gently placed Hiei against it. Slowly standing, a deep blue flare of energy surrounded him in fury. His dark brown gaze turned to the creature that would dare hurt his friend.  
>Walking out into the opening, bravely, the detective stopped in front of the large beast. He could feel his fist growing stronger from the amount of spirit energy focused into it.<p>

"Kurama, you can let him go. I'm gonna kill this bitch." He knew that Hiei told him not to use his spirit energy, but he went against his friend's wishes for pure revenge. Holding his right fist in his left hand, his pointer finger aimed at the large black demon.

"Spirit Gun…"

~O~

The half-koorime jolted awake. The pain in his body responded immediately, as he reached an arm around his bandaged stomach. He wouldn't cry out in pain, he was much stronger than that, and wouldn't subject himself to submission. Although, a grunt filled the room, as he felt his wound tear open, and begin to bleed through the bandages.

"Hiei, please lay back down. Now I have to re-bandage your wound again." A sigh caught the raven-haired demons attention immediately, as a door slid opened to reveal Kurama walking in.

"K-Kurama…?! Where am I? Where is the beast?" So many questions were swarming around in his head, and he wanted answers, now.

It irked the smaller demon to see the redhead quietly sit down next to him, "Please, Hiei, lay back down so that I can seal your wound up." He purposefully ignored the younger man, reaching for the bandages.

Hiei growled lowly, and leaned away from the half-human's touch. "Don't ignore me, Fox! Now answer my questions!" He was frustrated, and felt lost in all of this. He had no idea what had happened. All he remembers is passing out in Yusuke's arms after warning him. Now, he was in pain and not in a good mood at all.

"How is this, if you let me heal you, then I will give you the answers you seek. Do we have a deal?" Kurama was always a smooth-talker, and usually he would always have things his way.

Hiei bared his fangs at the fox in disguise. He was in no condition to fight his way out of this, so he decided to go with the redhead's terms. His tense shoulders loosened, as he gave out a small sigh in surrender. (Possibly the only time he will ever surrender in his entire life.) "Fine…"

The genius redhead smiled in victory, as he placed a gentle hand on his little friend's chest, pushing him down. "Thank you, Hiei. You know, we were very worried about you. I almost thought that you weren't going to make it." He made small talk, getting to work on the soiled bandages.

Pulling out a seed, he tossed it on the ground and it grew into a beautiful flower, next to him. Blood red eyes were darted over to the side, not watching the half-human work on his wound. The bandages were removed where it had been soiled, and Kurama placed his hand into the flowers center, pulling out a specific spore from it. It was a natural healing plant, and its spores were able to stop bleeding.

A small hiss made emerald eyes dart over to the flame demons face for a brief moment to make sure that he wasn't harming him too much. The spore did sting on contact, but it would dull within a few minutes. "I'm sorry, Hiei. The pain will subside soon. I have managed to stop the bleeding for now. Please try not to move too suddenly within the next twenty-four hours." Kurama said softly, wrapping up the injury, and reaching down to pick up the plant that was turned back into a seed.

"Hn…" Hiei said coolly, staying in his position on the floor since the pollen was still stinging a bit. "Alright, I have kept my part of the bargain. Now answer my questions." He said with a straight-forward attitude. Always making sure to get to the point, he was back to normal it seems.

Holding his hands up for a playful defense, the half-bred surrendered. "Alright, alright, Hiei. I will uphold my part of the deal. Well, to answer your first question, we are in Genkai's home." Kurama smiled, sitting down Indian style next to his best friend.

With another of his usual 'hn's' Hiei glanced around the Japanese style home. It definitely looked like Genkai's. He was sure that if he wasn't so panicked at first, he would have realized that by now.

The spiky-haired male darted his gaze over to the seated redhead who cleared his throat. "And to answer your second question, it is a long story." Folding his hands, the smaller demon could tell that this would take a while.

"Honestly, we thought you were dead, Hiei. I am sure that you remember when we found you inside of the cave." The last thing he wanted to do was to annoy the little dragon, so he avoided the term 'rescue.' "Well, Yusuke brought you back outside of the cave to properly fight the beast, and that was when you fell unconscious. While you were out, I force fed you the plant that you refused to take before that. That is possibly the reason you are still breathing at this moment."

An angry frown appeared on the demons face, he hated to rely on others. He was weak, and didn't defeat his opponent, falling and having to be saved by his friends. The second question he asked wasn't completely answered, but he knew that the fox would eventually explain everything to him, and then some.

"The beast you asked about is deceased." Hiei blinked, almost not hearing what the redhead has said.

"What? How on earth did you manage to kill that thing?" Talking about death to the half-koorime was as simple as speaking about the weather. It was a part of his life, and didn't bother him one bit.

Kurama chuckled slightly, "It wasn't easy, I will tell you that. With all three of us, it was still a challenge." To the fox demon, it seemed impossible to make his smaller friend understand the meaning of 'teamwork.' He was a loner, and always will be. Fighting his own battles, and not letting anyone past his walls. A demon fighting on pure instinct; even the fox knew that, after centuries of living, teamwork could help accomplish goals at a faster and less painful way.

"I used a special plant and attached it to the beasts back, since it seemed to be unable to reach it with ease. The plant was feeding off of its ki, and eventually it drained it, making it shrink back down to its regular size. With it being so small, it was still a challenge, but with all three of us using physical attacks we eventually killed it." Kurama said happily, watching his friend's reaction. He hoped that he didn't make the smaller male self-conscious about himself and his fighting abilities.

"Hn…" This was irritating. He fought that thing when it was at its regular size, and he still lost to it. Although, his teammates managed to defeat him easily. Glancing at Kurama, Hiei noticed that his best friend came out unscathed. There was no other scent of blood in the air other than his own, and it irked him. "Was anyone else hurt? Where is Yusuke, and the Baka?"

Kurama sighed, shaking his head slowly and closing his eyes. "Hiei, be a little nicer to Kuwabara. He was the one that offered to carry you here. He honestly felt awful seeing you in such a state."

"WHAT!?" The little dragons entire body shook, leaning himself up to rest on his elbows. Now he felt disgusted; absolutely wretched at the thought of that Oaf carrying him, touching him.

"Well, well, if it isn't Sleeping Beauty finally waking up?" As if the heavens called upon it, the same two people made their way into the room, through the same door as Kurama had. A smirking, and secretly relieved, Yusuke stood at the door, with Kuwabara behind him.

Walking in, Yusuke stood next to the seated redhead, and leaned down with his hands in the pockets of his usual green uniform. "Hey there, Hiei, how're ya feelin'? You look better than I last saw ya." In reality, he was worried that his friend wouldn't wake up at all. It was all thanks to Kurama and Genkai's healing that he managed to survive, let alone wake up hours later.

Kazuma walked to the other side of Kurama, with a smile on his face. He was happy to see his little rival alive and well. The vision was still clear in his head of holding Hiei in his arms. He was so light, and there was blood all over him. It was clearly, horrifying. He didn't think that he ever ran so fast in his life. "Hey there, Pipsqueak. Looks like you are doing better."

Anger flashed through those auburn eyes, making sure to glare at everyone that met them, but staying fiercely on Kurama. The fox didn't have psychic abilities, and definitely couldn't read minds, but just by looking at the infuriated demon, he could conclude that he was basically saying "_How could you let this human touch me?!"_ He knew that Hiei would have rather been held by either him or Yusuke, and not Kuwabara. To reply to that, he merely smiled back at him. "See, Hiei? Everyone was worried about you.

With a threatening growl, he spoke "If I had the strength, I would slit all of your throats…" Even if he did have the energy, it would be an empty threat, and it seemed that everyone knew it. Yusuke laughed, and dared to ruffle up his gravity-defying hair.  
>"Ha-ha! It's good to have the old Hiei back, eh guys?" The detective knew of his brave move, and probably would regret it when the fire demon managed to stand again without re-opening his wounds. "Take a chill-pill, squirt. You need your rest." He said, letting go of him. He could have sworn that he could see actual fire within those deep red colored eyes. "Alright, guys, let's get outta here. Pissin' Hiei off isn't going to help him any."<p>

With that said Kurama stood up, brushing the imaginary dust off of his pants, "Please rest, Hiei. I will be back to check on you within a few hours." He said and walked alongside Yusuke, heading outside.

Kazuma was the last to leave, waiting until Yusuke and Kurama walked out completely, before saying his goodbyes. "Get well soon, alright? I can't have my littlest rival going crippled on me now, right?" He with a relieved smile, and turned to walk away.

"Kazuma." Hiei said softly, almost unable to be heard at all. Kuwabara stopped in his tracks, turning back around to see who had called him by his first name. Only two people called him that. His older sister and his darling Yukina. It shocked him to find that Hiei, the fearful black dragon tamer, had the decency to call a human by his first name.  
>"Uh, what is it Hiei? Is… There somethin' you need?" He was a bit worried at first. Was he hit on the head while in that last battle? He seemed more… calm.<p>

The smaller male sighed, not liking what he was about to say. Although it was in his honor code to be grateful to those who cared about him in such a way. "I just wanted to say… Th-Thanks… For, you know… S-Saving me…" That was extremely difficult to say, he had to hold his tongue to keep from insulting him like his natural instincts told him to do.

Kuwabara mentally 'aww'-ed in his head at the grateful little guy. Yeah, Hiei was a hard person in general. Usually cold and distant, hating to rely on others for help, the Shrimp also had a different side to him. A side that rarely anyone sees, his generosity and kindness that shone through the smallest cracks in the walls around his heart. Secretly, Kazuma assumed that Hiei seemed lonelier than anything else. "No problem, man." He said with a thumbs up, "It's what friends do."

Once again, a tongue was trapped between fangs. It was so difficult to hold himself back from insulting the Oaf, wishing to say "_Who said anything about us being friends? I need no sympathy!"_ Sadly, and with a bit of relief, he held his tongue, literally. The raven-haired male tasted blood in his mouth, as he stifled a small "hn." In agreement, listening to the footsteps of the luckiest human alive, walk right out the door.

A sigh filled the room, finally able to release his tongue and collect all of the blood from the newest wound. Falling back down, Hiei lifted his arms and placed them on the back of his head, suckling on his tongue and staring up at the ceiling. He wondered how long he has been out; he had forgotten to ask the fox demon about that.

Before another thought had crossed his mind, his eyes slowly closed, his body trying to regain the missed naps from doing the mission. The time he was literally passed out didn't count as resting in Hiei's opinion. It would be difficult to sleep in a place like this. He was used to resting in the treetops, on a nice and sturdy branch, with the smell of nature all around him coaxing him to slumber.

Sadly, his body fought against his mind, telling it that it needed rest, and was completely exhausted. The pain from Kurama's plant has managed to dull down to a throbbing ache, bearable enough for him to be able to rest.

A bandaged hand reached down to his lips to try and stifle back a yawn, but it was futile, as it slipped through, barely audible. He hated these side effects of using the dragon, the long hibernation that took his body by force every time he used it, was sincerely annoying. At least it was better than when he first used it, the pain was so bad he just wanted to slice off his right arm to try and end the crippling pain. One consequence outweighed the other immensely; he thoughtfully shrugged, dipping himself into the realm of sleep that he tried to inwardly fight to stay awake.


	2. Chapter 2: Unknown Feelings

Genkai's temple was quite, the sound of crickets chirped away in the night. A beautiful moon shown through the thin temple doors, illuminating the rooms within. The night wasn't too far along, however, as five out of the six occupants were still awake.

Kurama, Yusuke, Kazuma, Yukina and Genkai all were crowded in the living room area. The Fox and Yusuke were chatting to one another, while Yukina and Kuwabara watched television together on the couch. Genkai was busy making up a healing remedy for her newest bother, Hiei.

"Man, Kurama, I still can't get over how close we were to losin' Hiei back there." The leader of the group sighed, as he took another bite of his chocolate bar. He even hated to think about it, but he was glad that the horrid beast was finally gone, so that they wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. "I bet that if you hadn't force-fed him that leaf-thingy, he would have probably bled to death, eh?"

The savvy redhead nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, I know." It was hard to envision his best friend in such a condition, again. He would be sure to try and think of a better plan next time to keep them all uninjured next time. "Hiei would definitely have bled to death if we were only a few minutes late. This creature was no ordinary one to survive Hiei's black dragon."

"Aw, hey guys! I forgot to tell ya! Hiei said somethin' that might make ya'll jealous!" Kuwabara's scratchy voice rang up as he turned his entire body spastically, as he just remembered.

Brown and green colored eyes darted over to the natural redhead. "Ha! What did he say, Kuwabara? Did he confess his undying love for you~?" Yusuke joked, as he laughed loudly, noticing the angry red blush that spread on his face. Kurama lifted a hand to his mouth to stifle a giggle. He knew that Hiei would never say such a thing.

"Urameshi!" Kazuma nearly screeched, leaping from the couch to stand his ground. "You know that the Shrimp wouldn't say anything like that! But he did say something else that would probably stun you!" This notion silenced the raven-haired male from his uncontrollable laughter.

"Ah yeah? Well then tell me, what did he say?" Actually, Yusuke was a little bit intrigued. What could have Hiei said that would possibly shock him at all?

"Hmph! You would have never guessed it, but Hiei thanked me for saving him! He said if after you all left the room. Although… I am not sure how he would have guessed since he was knocked out…" He started strong, but ended with a soft note of curiosity. He didn't even question how the little fire demon knew that it was him that carried him. Unless "Kurama, did you tell him?"

With a generous smile, the redhead stood from the table he was seated at. "Yes, Kuwabara. I told him before you and Yusuke walked in. At first he seemed very angry, though, I guess that I was wrong. You know Hiei doesn't give his thanks without reason." Glancing his emerald eyes at the clock, he noticed that it was time to give his friend a visit to see his condition. "I am going to check up on him. I hope he won't complain too much." Sighed Kurama, as he started to walk off heading to Genkai.

Yusuke grinned, giving him a thumbs up, "If he tries to fight ya, Kurama, just tell him that I'll kick his little ass." His usual joking threats were always taken lightly, just as they should. He knew that if Kurama had any trouble with the little guy, Yusuke could easily pin him down.

"Yeah! Me too, Kurama! If he refuses I will hold him down myself and shove it down his throat!" Kazuma said with a fist held high.

With a stifled, perverted giggle, the raven-haired male nearly burst into laughter at what his old friend said. "Damn, Kuwabara. Take it easy, I guarantee that Hiei is a virgin; don't be so rough with him when you finally have the balls to do him!" The leader said, as he fell to the floor laughing at the paled and drained face his friend.

"URAMESHI!"

"Are the herbs ready yet, Genkai-sama?" Kurama asked kindly, walking over to the elder.

A small "hm" escaped from her, as she held up the bowl up crushed plants, mixed with her energy. "This should do it for now. Spread it over his wounds, and it should help."

With a curt bow in thanks, the Fox grabbed what was offered. "Thank you very much, Genkai-sama. I am sure Hiei will benefit from it." With her ki mixed into these herbs, they were more powerful than Kurama's plants could make. He was lucky to have her available to help.

Walking out, the redhead sighed softly when he heard his two friends hit the ground, and a rough voice of the pink-haired woman to yell at them for wrestling in her house. Those two were always at each other's throats, almost as bad as Hiei and Kuwabara. At least they knew where to stop before anyone got hurt.

Even with the door slid shut, Kurama smiled softly, when he heard Yukina's worried voice chime up for them to separate, in which the room silenced. Kuwabara's voice was radiating off of the walls as he apologized for upsetting her, and for making a ruckus. If only he knew that the real consequence for upsetting Yukina wasn't Genkai at all, but the injured demon just a few doors down. Hiei, even in his current state, wouldn't be afraid to kill for the safety and protection of his sister.

~ O ~

A door slid open, quietly, as tender footsteps approached the sleeping dragon. Hiei was still knocked out; although, his hibernation was possibly over and he was just merely resting. Kurama knew that nothing could wake him when he was in hibernating, so with a gentle hand, he placed it on the smaller male's shoulders, shaking lightly. "Hiei. Hiei wake up, I have to check on your wounds."

A soft groan left his throat, tossing his body to rest on his side away from the redhead. "Go away, Kurama…" He was having such a nice dream too, and now he was a bit grouchy from being woken up. The raven-haired fire demon knew that Kurama would get his way, but it was never his style to give up so easily.

Hiei heard his friend sigh out, knowing that underneath that fiery hair, he was planning a retaliation attack. "Please, Hiei. I wish not to pin you down, just to check on your wounds."

He was serious, the black dragon assumed that just from his tone of voice. With a mix between a groan and a sigh, Hiei sat up slowly, his back to the sneaky fox. "You don't plan to hurt me, do you, Fox?" He asked with a tilt of his head, looking back at Kurama over his shoulder.

That tired stare. Those glazed over auburn eyes, seemed to read him just from the glance. With the moonlight illuminating his back majestically, the humanoid-fox couldn't help but to feel a slight fix of arousal that sprung through his loins. Swallowing thickly, "I promise I will not harm you, Hiei. When have I ever done such a thing?"

Hiei chuckled. It was a low and it shook his shoulders, lightly. "You are lucky, Kurama." A bandaged hand was raised to rest on the side of his head. "I don't quite feel like myself at the moment." Turning to look at the redhead through gaped fingers, the fire demon gave a small smirk.

Tilting his head, Kurama was confused. "Are you unwell?" If Hiei was feeling sick, then he would gladly aid him. Reaching out, the fox-demon gently grasped the smaller one's hand, noticing that he was really warm, almost feverish. _"He is a fire-demon, so his natural temperature would rise. Although, he is also half ice-demon, so his temperature should balance out."_ The thought quickly rose through his mind, trying to decipher what was wrong with his best friend.

Hiei was also not fighting back at all, like he assumed. He raised a knee for his elbow to rest on, as Kurama held his hand. The half-koorime thought nothing of the small contact. He never allowed anyone other than his sister and Kurama to touch him like that. His gaze never left the conjoined hands, "I am not sure." He said, unusually uncertain.

Now, the Fox was worried. Hiei was always certain about everything that he said. Cautiously, he raised his hand, as non-threatening as possible, to touch the cloth that covered his forehead. Hiei's eyes closed slowly, when he felt those cool fingers touch his band, and a bit of his brow, a silent message of continuance.

Lifting the protector away, just to the top of his hairline, Kurama placed his entire palm on Hiei's forehead, wary to be cautious of his third eye that was closed. _"He is warm."_ "Hiei, have you been moving around since I left you earlier today?" It was a soft question, not an accusing tone was used. No wonder the fire-demon felt a bit ill.

The hand resting on his forehead was welcoming, to say the least. Strangely, the touch seemed to help calm him. Almost as much as when he would look into the tear-gem of his mother. "No." It was a small and curt answer, but it was true. "I have been resting the entire time you have been gone."

A soft hum left the redhead's throat, moving his hand away from his forehead and replaced the protector, squeezing his other on the bandaged one. "I am not sure if you are running a fever, but you do feel much warmer than usual." The small and tender affection didn't go unnoticed from the smaller male, as his deep red gaze opened and traveled to the connected hands once more. The stare made him a bit nervous. "Would you like me to stop holding your hand, Hiei?" He knew that he should have just let go, but moving too suddenly wasn't the best idea when it came to the little youkai.

Closing those long-lashed eyes again, Hiei shook his head from side-to-side slowly. "It is soothing." This time, however, he didn't open his eyes back up. "I feel exhausted, but I don't feel tired." In all honestly, he felt sick more than anything. A bit of worry entered his mind that his wound was infected which signaled his temperature spike.

The centuries old fox could easily see through him. Hiei was unwell, and he had to try and make him feel better. Letting go of his hand, he wrapped an arm around Hiei's back slowly, as to not startle him, and the other under his knees.

It wasn't until the little dragon heard a soft thumping against his head did he, slowly, open his eyes. He was pressed up against a strong chest, and he was being carried. "Where are you taking me, Fox…?" Even his own voice was soft, too soft for his liking. He wouldn't struggle, only because he felt too weak. He hated that word. 'Weak.' He was nothing close to that horrid word, but he couldn't describe his current condition in any other way.

In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but to notice how light the man in his arms was. Was he always this light? When was the last time he had eaten anything? "I am taking you to the hot springs. Genkai has made a special mix of herbs for you, and I need to wash your injuries out before applying it." Kurama made sure to travel with as little jostling as possible, as to not aggravate the smaller male further.

Hiei blinked, lifting his head away from the warmth of the body holding him. "How strange, Kurama. What do you plan to do, bathe me?" He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Of course, he knew how to give himself a bath. Hiei may be weak but he was, most certainly, strong enough to bathe himself.

"That is precisely what I plan to do, Hiei." Almost immediately after he said that, the little dragon's ki flared. "Come now, Hiei, do you think I haven't seen you nude before?" When he was patching him up, there were a few deep gashes on his upper thigh, which needed to be tended to. How else was he supposed to get to it?

A blush rose up to tint his pale cheeks that he will deny to his dying day. "Not that I know of, Kurama!" His eyes narrowed to slits, was this one of the Fox's tricks? There was no way he would be caught so vulnerable. He was proud of his figure, but he still didn't want to be spied on while naked.

The sly Fox couldn't keep the grin from appearing on his face, as he pulled open the doors to the backyard hot springs. It was a private area for bathing, and it was a perfect place to relax. "You didn't notice the injuries adorning your legs? Especially in the upper thigh regions? Besides, you were still out-cold when I first patched you up." Seating the fidgeting demon on a raised rock near the sauna, Kurama walked over to retrieve a towel.

Now that Hiei knew of the Fox's intentions, he placed both hands between his legs, resting on the rock he was sitting on. He had no idea that there were injuries below his waist. "If you think I won't put up a fight, Fox, then you are wrong. I am not getting in the water with you in the room."

Hiei's boots were already off, so the only obstacle that lay in Kurama's path was his pants. Luckily, he removed the three belts that were needed to hold them up when he was out-cold. This made them even easier to remove since they looked like they would fall down his skinny legs at any moment. "The faster we get this done, Hiei, the faster I can leave you be. Now, don't be rash, but I will be bathing you. I need to make sure that you don't have an infection."

Those pale hands reached for the pants line on the youkai's little waist but they were gripped by warm hands. "No, Kurama! I may be injured and unwell, but don't think that I can't put up a fight." There was no way he would allow the visibility of his naked body while he is awake. The Fox may have gotten a peek while he was unconscious, but not while he is looking him right in the eyes.

Kurama sighed, already tired of these shenanigans. "I am warning you, Hiei. Don't make me use force." He didn't want to harm the injured male, and knew that he wouldn't. He assumed that if he could bind the man's arms then that would be enough to make him submit. He would also need to use specialized plants, since Hiei still had a bit of fight left in him.

Blood red eyes narrowed dangerously. "Just try me, Fox." He was confident, even though he was at a disadvantage. Within a moment, Hiei vanished, and appeared on the other side of the room. An arm wrapped around his stomach, and his teeth were gritted together. It hurt to move like that, but he would gladly fight his way out of this.

The surprise disappearance didn't alter the redhead's expression. Standing straight, and turning around, he faced the rambunctious fire demon with a tired look. "I warned you. Now, you will play by my rules." Kurama said as he reached to the back of his head, under his hair, for a seed. Tossing it to the ground, it came alive with an energy flare, growing into a vine covered plant. "This plant will not harm you, but it will contain you." He said as he snapped his fingers, and the thing flung its thorn-less vines Hiei's way.

The dragon's eyes widened, as the plant charged his way. With his quick speed, he was able to dodge the first attack, but for how long. Charging his ki into his palms, Hiei didn't have the strength to summon the black dragon, but perhaps the mortal flame would suffice in bringing the vines to ash. There was no way he could get close, so he threw a fireball at the vines, as he jumped to the right to dodge another onslaught of the attack.

Landing on wobbly legs, the youkai grunted in pain, as he felt his injuries jostle from the sudden movement. He barely had time to think, however, as the vine that he had thought was exterminated, emerged anew, and lunged at him again. Hiei panicked and leaped again, sadly this time, he felt a tug at his right leg. Glancing down, he noticed the same vine that used to be on fire, was wrapped tightly around his calf, causing him to fall forward.

Kurama merely stood there, watching the whole fight with unblinking eyes, never moving an inch. When the vine finally caught him by the foot, he forced more vines to catch his upper body so he wouldn't rip open anymore injuries, preventing him from landing on the floor. Three more vines wrapped around his remaining limbs, and brought Hiei over to a patient redhead.

The fire demon struggled fruitlessly against the restraints on his arms and legs. "Kurama! Release me!" He growled out a command; although, with the look on the Fox's face it seemed that he was ignored. He was placed on his feet, the vines making sure that he couldn't move, or control his energy. It seemed to put a cap on his ki, so that he couldn't use any attacks. The sly Fox had thought ahead.

"I am sorry, Hiei. I had tried to warn you, and now you will have to bathe with an uncomfortable restraint." With another snap of his fingers, the vines that held the demons arms, moved them to his back. Carefully, they positions his arms bent at the elbow, at nearly a ninety degree angle, with one parallel to the other in the middle of his back. This was done to prevent further movement. The vines snapped themselves off of the main plant, and wrapped tightly around both arms, securely restraining Hiei from further movement.

A threatening growl left Hiei's lips, when he felt his arms moving without his permission behind his back. Deep and angry eyes glared up at Kurama. The other casually walked up to him and bent over slightly to begin stripping him of the bandages. "Relax, Hiei. You will feel more comfortable if you would just relax. The more you pull, the stronger the vines will be.

The black dragon's body heated up on instinct to try and rid his self of the restraints, but he couldn't get into contact with his energy. The plant seemed to block it off, leaving him vulnerable. His body tingled when he felt those skilled fingers peel off the sticky white bandages on his skin, watching them fall to the floor, lifeless.

Hiei would run off, but the vines still held down his legs, so he was grounded in one position until they were removed. He felt cold, when the bandages were gone, revealing a bruised and battered body in the wake. The small youkai felt a bit embarrassed at the way he looked now. Not that he wasn't proud of his battle scars, but he felt a bit out of place in front of the master thief. He had attained these scars, and failed in his mission. Kurama had succeeded, and came out unscathed.

Darting his gaze over to the lower left, he felt those emerald eyes look upon his injuries with a stealthy grace. "The largest wound on your lower right stomach seems to be a bit infected." That was the injury when he was stabbed by the creature's large spiked tail. He still remembers the feel of that huge spike sinking into his body and ripping his organs in the process. He shivered at the spike of imaginary pain.

Kurama took note of the involuntary shiver that rippled through the smaller demon; he would have to be extra careful when cleaning out that wound. It was a sickly shade of black and red crusted over the large hole where the spike penetrated his body. Around the gash was a purple, black and red bruise, possibly happened when Hiei reopened the wound. Powdered on top, was familiar pollen that did its job to keep the blood coagulated, in other words keeping him from bleeding out.

Carefully, Kurama kneeled down and gripped the top of Hiei's pants and started to pull them down. The fire demon held his breath, and leaned back, turning his head away. A deep blush spread on his neck and crawled to his face, as he clenched his eyes shut. He couldn't get away, as he felt the fabric slide down his thighs, and pool at his ankles.

It was of no surprise to the Fox that the little dragon didn't wear undergarments. Most demons didn't believe in underwear, and Hiei was one of them. Glancing up at those tightly closed lids, a small smirk appeared on Kurama's face as he briefly took in the view of his little fire demon. Hiei's size was proportioned to his body; because of his short stature, he wasn't as large as the Fox was, but decent for a man with his height.

Emerald eyes traveled further down to assess the damage done to his friend's body. Reaching up, he gently pulled off the bandages that were wrapped around his thighs, hearing a hiss from above; whether it was from pain or pleasure, he was unsure. A deep gash, located on his pale left thigh, started in the middle front and worked its way diagonally up and around inward toward his buttocks.

Hiei's mind panicked. He was so close. So close to the most sensitive part of his body, he could practically feel the others hot breath dance across his scrotum. Biting his lip to keep down any sound that threatened to crawl up his throat, the dragon clenched his eyes shut further to keep from looking down at the Fox. _"Right, this isn't anything sexual… He is just looking at my wounds…"_ He was lucky that his body was able to control itself, since he hasn't been physically stimulated, but the feeling was still there.

Gently, Kurama placed a hand below the gash, pushing slightly, signaling the vines to spread Hiei's legs outward a bit more, so he could investigate. His thigh involuntarily flinched at the sudden contact, feeling him shiver in place. He tilted his head and leaned down to get a better look at the injury. The wound managed to reach completely around to the other side onto the little demon's cheeks. Standing up, the Fox made his way around to the other side of the bound youkai.

Hiei's eyes darted open when he felt the other stand, and followed his movements, turning his head to keep eye contact. He felt so exposed. Tied down and his body spread eagle just waiting for something drastic to happen. This felt like no ordinary check-up.

His entire body flinched, when he felt a palm rest gently on the top of his back, just above his bound arms. Hiei had seen it coming, but it still didn't settle the dark shivers that darted across his spine from the contact. "Relax, Hiei, I will not hurt you." His shoulders shook, slightly, as a mix of fear and sexual desire sprung through his nerves. He hated to have someone at his back, especially when his is bound and vulnerable to attack. Although, he knew that Kurama would never do anything to harm him.

The small demon couldn't watch him anymore. Jerking his head back forward, he felt the other slowly crouch behind him. The hand was still placed against his upper back, though it didn't help relieve him of the fear. Without warning, a gentle hand was placed on his waist, the same side as the injury. Hiei couldn't keep down the frightened grunt that shook his entire body. His eyes were widened with horror, staring forward. The lip that was between his fangs ripped, feeling the blood sliding down his chin to gather there only to drip to the floor between his legs. Tears gathered at the edges of his unblinking eyes, when he felt a thumb from the hand on his waist grip his cheek and pulled it to the side a bit.

Kurama knew he was pushing it, now. Taking a quick look, he noticed that the injury seemed to reach upward and outward to the middle of his left cheek. Removing his hands entirely, he walked around the fire demon. Looking at the crumbled mess of his friend, he regretted taking his time. Those ruby eyes held a sense of fear deep within, and to add to it, Hiei looked like he was about to cry.

Being careful and slow, the redhead reached his hand out to the dragon's mouth, and wiped away the trail of blood with his thumb. Hiei flinched back, but didn't bite him like he had assumed. "Your wounds are healing, but with the medicine, it will heal faster. Now, let's get into the water." The minute he said that, the vines holding the demon's legs released him and Kurama moved to the side to allow him to walk into the water.

The Fox had expected the tiny demon to immediately flit away, never to be seen again; although, if he were to do that, he would have to come back eventually to get the vines removed. The person who attached the vines will have to be the one to remove them. Did Hiei know that? He was unsure, but he had a clue by the look on his face that he knew he was trapped either way.

Emerald green eyes stared back into those unblinking shocked red ones. Was he frightened? The shaky demon merely stood in place, not taking his eyes off of the Fox. Was he planning something? "Do you need any help, Hiei?" Kurama asked, as if his friend wasn't standing naked in the room with him.

The fire apparition visibly flinched at the sound of the other man in the room, snapping him out of his feared trance. He was embarrassed, and a bit frightened, he was unsure why. The Fox hadn't harmed him at all. He had only touched him in places that no other living creature has before. Of course he had been injured there, but never had the physical contact been so gentle, caressing.

Ignoring the red that stained his cheeks, Hiei closed his eyes, and held his head down, walking to the water's edge. Taking a cautious step, the fire demon made his way into the warm depths of the heated pool; continuing until he felt that he his waist was completely covered, he stopped. His arms were still bound as a gaze of deep auburn peeked over his small shoulder at the still-standing redhead.

Kurama was going to strip to keep his outfit from getting wet, but he decided that Hiei's comfort was more important than his own. Never taking his eyes off of the pair staring at him, and grabbing a bar of soap and cloth, he walked into the water with smooth steps, up to the uneasy youkai. "Relax Hiei, I told you that I wouldn't harm you, and I plan to keep it that way."

To try and relax the timid demon, Kurama walked around to his front. Those flaming eyes never leaving his face, as the Fox dipped the washcloth into the water, and lathered it with the soap. "This might sting a bit, but it will help clean out your injuries." He said softly, trying not to startle the bound youkai.

Hiei grit his teeth, when he felt the somewhat ridged cloth, gently, rub against his battered body. Not once did he take his eyes off of the working redhead. He hoped that his humiliation was soon coming to an end, but he was still fortunate to see that Kurama still had his clothes on. He knew that it made the former Fox uncomfortable to be in wet clothes. Strangely, the fire demon also had a different feeling about that. Almost like he wanted the other man to remove his clothes as they both entered the water. He mentally shook his head at the thought. Preposterous.

Glowing green eyes kept watch of his hand at work, cleaning out the crusted blood that was missed and bits of pollen that were stuck to the gaping wound. Pulling the cloth back, he dipped it in the water to rid of the stained red color that it had obtained, and lathered it back up, before continuing with his upper chest. Three deep gashes lined diagonally up from the right to the left side of his torso. These were not as bad as the stab wound on his lower left stomach. The injury on his thigh was deeper than these; he was surprised that Hiei didn't notice that one at all until he mentioned it.

Kurama's fingers gently brushed over a soft nipple, taking in the sight before him. Hiei was surely beautiful; especially in this intense moment. He was bound, completely at the Fox's mercy. That hard-as-stone gaze never leaving his face, trying to concentrate on the person rather than the hands that roamed his body.

Placing his other hand on the smaller ones shoulder, he rubbed at the smooth chest, wiping the injuries clean and being careful not to open the forming scabs. Kurama could feel the small chest rise and fall with every breath he took. No heart beat was detected, though. Demon hearts don't beat; he would have been worried if he suddenly heard the thumping of his still-beating heart.

Hiei seemed more docile now than before. The young demon was so concentrated on getting away, and now he merely stood there, motionless and speechless. Had he given up? Or was he just waiting for the right moment to strike? Perhaps he just wanted this all to be over with. If only he could read what the other was thinking, but it was hard behind that emotionless stare.

There was no panic. No malice behind those ruby red eyes. Kurama was sure that he would have seen something by now. He was still, until a deep breath made the small breast pushed his hand back gently; falling back down after a deep sigh left those supple lips. "Are we done…?" The sound was so deep, rhythmic. It vibrated through the soft flesh that the Fox was cleaning, making his skin tingle.

Blinking out of his trance, Kurama looked back into more focused eyes. "Almost… Just have to clean the gash on your thigh." He noticed that Hiei visibly flinched at the mention of that particular injury. The Fox pulled back the soiled rag, and cleaned it once more, getting ready for the more sensitive part of the demons body. Would he allow him? "I will be quick, I promise."

For some reason, Hiei didn't trust the words that came from the master thief at that moment. He wouldn't be quick; he had a feeling that something else was going to happen. Although, he had no other choice.

Slowly, the fire apparition turned and walked to the side of the water, where it was shallow enough to reveal everything down to his mid-thigh. His fingers clenched in the tight bondage behind his back, getting nervous, as he kept his back turned on the sly Fox. He was getting tired, as he turned his head back to look at Kurama with dull eyes.

It was like an invitation. The moonlight shown so beautifully on his back, it was almost illuminating. When the water receded, the Yoko inside of him nearly made him growl with a primal and dominant rush. He had to hold back. He could tell by the scent that Hiei wasn't ready. If the Fox gave into temptation, he would scare away his prey. And those eyes… Deep ruby gems glimmered dimly at him, and it nearly drove him to press him against the rock he was facing.

Swallowing, Kurama kept his cool, and approached the demon from behind, slowly. He pressed a hand onto the fire demons upper back, pressing him forward to rest his upper body against the rock formation. "Please bear with me." With as gentle movements as possible, he lathered the cloth once more, and pressed flatly to his left cheek.

A gasp left the dragons lips, at the cold feeling of the soapy cloth that touched him. He already felt vulnerable from having his back turned to the sneaky Fox, but it was made worse by the fact that he was bent over at an angle. Without his consent, his entire frame was shaking. His body told him to be nervous and frightened, but he knew that Kurama would never hurt him. Although, it did sting a bit from the wound he was trying to clean, but it was expected.

The semi-smooth rag rubbed in small circles on the little demons rear, gradually heading south. Long, nimble fingers traced down Hiei's back, over his bound arms, and stopped at a narrow hip. With a light grip, the Fox moved closer, bending over the shivering man, he maneuvered the cloth to slide between his legs to continue cleaning.

Hiei clenched his teeth, pressing the side of his face closer to the rock. A strangled hiss left his throat, at the working hand. On instinct he spread his legs wider, making available space for the cold cloth and warm hand to maneuver. Kurama was so close; it nearly drove the great Jagan master insane. He could almost feel the two low-hanging bits of hair that he usually kept in front of his ears on his tiny shoulder.

It took every fiber of the Fox's self-control to keep himself from purposefully rubbing a hand on the fire demons scrotum that hung between his legs. Surprising himself, he stayed on task, and tried not to breathe the dragons scent too deeply, it would only arouse him further.

Seconds felt like minutes, as time rolled slowly. Taking each staggering breath through an open mouth, Hiei closed his eyes, praying that this moment of embarrassment would end. Strangely, a different feeling mixed in the pit of his stomach, along with anxiety, fear and shame. It was a foreign feeling, one that the dragon tamer had never experienced before. The feeling brought a fluttering sensation throughout his entire being, and wasn't entirely unpleasant.

Kurama released the Jagan master all together, and took a few steps back. "I am done. All we have to do now is apply the medicine and you will be free to go." He never meant to keep him this long, his arms must be killing him from being pent up on his back.

The outside was freezing as Hiei left the safety of the warm waters. The soft sound of splashing echoed through the silent room, as he made his way on shore near his clothes. He kept his back to the Fox, already embarrassed enough that he had seen everything. There was nothing more to hide. His dripping wet body, was shivering from his waist down to his legs. It seemed that both demons wouldn't dry off before this was over.

Water splashed as Kurama exited the sauna, shivering at the nippy air that met him. He would have to change his clothes after this, he hated to be wet. He decided to walk past the nude demon, and into the room where Hiei was previously resting, expecting the smaller man to follow. He knew he was sick, but he assumed that he didn't want to be touched like that in his predicament.

Just as the Fox thought, Hiei followed quite a distance behind the redhead. His body was reacting strongly to moving in such a condition, but he bared it, finally making it into the room. Kurama was kneeling near his bed, and preparing the concoction of medicines needed for his injuries. He stood at the door, thanking the lord that the moonlight only lit up his upper-body, as he stood in the doorway.

The scent coming off of the fire apparition seemed more apprehensive than anything else. He knew that Hiei was a tough man, but he looked more like a broken stallion, giving up on trying to buck its rider off and simply giving in. "Come on, Hiei. You look a bit cold, don't want that fever spiking."

Swallowing, the fire-demon did as he was told, and slowly made his way over to the kneeling redhead. Being careful, he knelt down, trying not to fall on his face, and pulled his legs from under himself to try and cover up his privates from being exposed any further. It wasn't working too well. Hopefully, Kurama would trust him enough to remove these restraints, they were starting to hurt. He felt the bed he was on dampen in places that his knees and rear touched, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

The redhead scooped a handful of the strange green goop from the bowl, it smelled strange, almost like multiple green-leafy substances mixed into one. "Be still, please." He chimed softly, as he reached out and smeared a good amount onto the largest wound on his body. That stuff was, absolutely, freezing. The minute it touched his heated skin, it made him jump a bit from the shock.

Hiei is a fire-demon but that didn't mean that he was immune to the cold. He hated to be cold, his body temperature was drastically effected, he'd much rather be hot. His entire body reflected the feeling of those hands on his body, one was holding him on the shoulder, and the other was working its way up to the gashes on his chest. He was lucky that he was too cold to keep any sexual feelings that rushed through his head.

Kurama took his time to feel out the shivering body before him. The darkness wasn't covering anything, and he could see it all. From his finely tinted red cheeks, down to the closed legs before him. He knew that he shouldn't waste time, Hiei was cold, but his body was fluctuating in temperature spikes, he could feel it. How strange.

A strangled moan left the youkai's throat in a soft plea, "K-Kurama... Please, h-hurry..." The Fox had to shake his head to try and rid of the immediate sexual thoughts that spewed in his mind. There was no way he would suggest something like that, he was merely cold and wished to get this done so he could cuddle back into the covers.

"Of course, Hiei. I apologize." He stated, as he finished with the final injury on his chest. "How would you like me to apply it to... uh... your final wound?" He had an idea but he knew that he was pushing boundaries, but it had to be done.

Hiei darted his wide gaze at the shimmering green that stared back. "C-Can't I just put it on m-myself?" He asked a bit loudly and angrily. He didn't know what was the big problem of himself doing this, he was fully capable.

The Fox-demon sighed, knowing that he would fight back. "Would you really want to risk spreading this stuff on your genitals? I have a strong feeling that if this came in contact with such sensitive skin, it would highly irritate it. Better to be safe than sorry." Not that Kurama _didn't_ want Hiei to do it himself; a feeling deep within him wanted to do it for the poor fire-demon.

A low growl emitted through clenched fangs, as he decided not to argue. The quicker he can get his pants on the better. Pulling back to his knees, he lifted himself, feeling off-balance from the restraints. "Just get it over with, please..." He said, surprisingly without a stutter, closing his eyes.

Kurama grabbed the bowl and knee-shimmied his way over to the apparition, being so close he could feel the soft breath dance across his clothed chest. "You can lean on me if you feel like you are going to fall." He assured, before placing the bowl behind Hiei, on the side of him.

Without a bit of warning, the smaller male fell forward, leaning his entire body onto the strong chest of the Fox-demon. Was he just tired? The redhead didn't question it at all. He had stated that before, and plans to keep it. Reaching a hand around to press onto his lower back for support and steadiness, Kurama scooped more of the messy green goop, into his hand and began to spread it onto his rear.

He was careful, making sure not to miss a single bit of the open injury, and made his way down to between the demons little thighs. He pulled his hand back, and scooped a little more into his hand, before pulling his own hips back while keeping his chest forward to support the leaning demon. His hand moved to the front to complete the job, as he wiped the rest of it on his already wet pants. "Alright, Hiei, now I just have to re-bandage it, and I will leave you alone."

A soft "hn" vibrated from his chest, as the demon refused to move. The Fox didn't complain, instead he reached behind himself to retrieve the bandages and slowly started to wrap up the small demons lower wound.

When finished, he put the bandages down, and placed both hands on the fire-demon's shoulders to push him back to lean on his own legs. "Sorry, I have to finish. You still feel a bit warm, though." He said as he reached for the white wrappings once more.

Hiei blinked slowly, as he was pulled away. A light flush ran over his neck and cheeks, feeling those hands working on his chest. To be truthful, he felt a lot better. After he had a nice dip in the sauna, and now his injuries didn't hurt anymore. He just wished that he could have gone without the whole nude thing.

A smile of satisfaction spread over the redheads features, as he pulled back. "There, finally finished. I will fetch your clothes for you." He stood and left the still-bound demon alone for a moment, as he retrieved the forgotten pants in the sauna room.

Kurama placed the article of clothing in front of the fire-demon, and gently tapped on the restraints with the tips of his fingers. Quickly, the plant unraveled itself from the youkai's arms, and traveled up the redheads instead, finding shelter within the confines of his sleeves.

Even with the injured and sick raven-haired man, he still managed to put on his clothes with an impressive speed, less than five seconds. Standing up, Kurama gave a short bow. "Good-night, Hiei. Sleep well, alright?" He said softly, turning to leave.

"Kurama, wait..."

Although there was nothing else the fire apparition wanted to do than to lay down and rest, he simply couldn't. Not after he felt the strange safety and comfort that he found within his friend. He actually felt warmth from him when he was being patched up. It was nice, and if Kurama hadn't pushed him off, he was sure to fall asleep against him.

The half-breed did as he was told, and turned to look into those pleading ruby eyes. "Yes, Hiei? What is it?" He asked softly, kneeling down to the hunched over figure in the bed. His intelligent mind was trying to think ahead, as usual, in these situations. Was he hungry? Thirsty? Needed an extra blanket? Was he in pain?

"Please sleep with me."

Kurama had not expected such a statement. It made his entire face red with a blush at the bluntness from the demon. What could he possibly mean by that? Knowing Hiei's usage of the human vocabulary, he was probably, literally, saying the true meaning of his words. He knows of the fire-demon's little knowledge on the human slang terms. Even in the Dark Tournament, he had never even heard of Rock-Paper-Sissors.

Shuichi and Youko was practically screaming in his head at the thought of actually having sex with the small and vulnerable demon, telling Kurama to _"go for it!" _However, the more calm and strategic side of his half-breed self forced his mind to calm and straightened out his thoughts. "Of course, Hiei. If it will help you feel better."

Hiei blinked in a bit of confusion at the strange flush that crept over the usual stoic Fox. Although, he immediately seemed to sort himself out, as he started to climb into the sheets. The fire demon wasted no time, as he moved aside to allow the taller male to slide in next to him. It was a tight fit, since it was a twin size bed, nearly pressing the two males against one another to keep from falling off.

Kurama reached down and pulled the blankets over himself and his little youkai. "Good-night, Hiei." He said again, softly, looking at his friend as he lay on his side facing him. The moonlight hit his face perfectly, showing those naturally wide eyes as they stared back up at him, almost longingly. He had thought it once before, but Hiei was really beautiful under the moon's gaze.

Gripping the sheets lightly, the half-koorime swallowed thickly, and curled in closer to the warmth of the other man. A deep rumble of "night" echoed to the redhead softly, as he closed his eyes, thankful that he wasn't alone on this cold night. One would think that he would be ready to kill the man that is laying beside him. Although, no murderous thought ran through his mind at all. Kurama was just trying to help him in his time of need. He'll find a way of revenge when the sun rises, until then, he plans on taking a good rest next to his half-breed.


	3. Chapter 3: Sensations

The sound of birds chirping and the greeting of the rising sun awoke the Fox from his slumber. Reaching a hand up to rub over a tired eye, Kurama sat up a bit confused at his current location. He wasn't in his usual room, but the scent was still familiar, but slightly off. He was in Genkai's temple, he knew that for sure. Blinking a bit to regain his senses, he took another glance around the room, until his gaze landed on a tuff of black-spiked hair with an outline of dark blue, shimmering with a star-burst white in the middle of the design.

A scent reacted faster than his vision could, and he immediately knew that it belonged to his tiny friend, Hiei. Kurama dropped his guard, relaxing now that he knew the scent wasn't a threat. Rubbing at his eyes again, he leaned down to look closer into those closed lids. His soft breathing passed through slightly parted lips; Hiei looked much better than the day before. Although, a thick feeling still hung in the air; a feeling that he couldn't pin out.

The Fox got himself out of the shared bed, quietly, and pulled the sheets back over the sleepy demon. A movement made Kurama hold his breath and still, as he tried not to make a sound. A bandaged hand reached up to grip at the pillow that his head rested on, and snuggled himself into it, giving out a sigh of comfort. With relief that he didn't wake his resting friend, the Fox made his way out of the room as quietly as he could to inform his other comrades about the condition of their smallest teammate.

The redhead smiled at the thought of Hiei's returning health, he was healing quickly mostly thanks to Master Genkai. Rough on the outside, but deep down she does care, even if it is just a little bit.

Making his way to the living room, Kurama slid a door open to find the rest of his team, Yusuke and Kuwabara sitting on the couch and watching television. "Hey, Kurama, how's Hiei doing?" The raven-haired leader asked as he turned his full attention to the approaching redhead.

"He is resting at the moment. His condition has improved since yesterday, thanks to the medicine that Genkai gave us, no doubt." A smooth as silk voice erupted into the quite room, catching the taller redhead's attention.

Kuwabara's gaze narrowed at the sight of his other redhead companion. There was a mix sensation of energy that his sixth sense spiked. What could have happened to Kurama when he was with the fire-demon? "Hey, Kurama, what happened? Your energy feels kinda funny. Did the squirt do anything to ya?" He was concerned, perhaps the evil little three-eyed twerp put a strange spell on the poor half-human. Once his friend fully recuperates, then he would have to teach that small-fry a lesson.

Kurama's eyebrows furrowed, "Of course not, Kuwabara. Hiei was in no condition to harm me in any way." This was strange. If Kazuma felt a strange mix of ki from him, there must have been something wrong without him noticing. Whenever the orange-haired male sense something was off, it usually was correct. His sixth sense was stronger than any of the teams, and has gotten them out of tricky situations before.

"Hey, man, what's wrong with you, huh? Accusing Kurama of being cursed or somethin'? Sorry about that Kurama. Hey, do you think it is alright if I check up on him real quick? Not that I don't trust your opinion, I just wanted to see it for myself." Yusuke blabbered on, lightly punching his friend in the arm, and getting up from the couch over to the standing long-haired male.

Kuwabara growled out, and huffed, folding his arms. It wasn't his fault that he could sense something was up with the Fox demon. Kurama shook his head, "be my guest. Just be cautious not to wake him. He tends to be very agitated whenever he is forcefully woken from his sleep." He warned, stepping aside to allow the leader of the team to step by.

Yusuke laughed, waving a hand nonchalant, "Ha! I'd think I like to see that for myself!" He joked, but then grew serious quickly. "But I will try not to. I just want to check up on him really quickly. He was in pretty bad shape, and as you know he tends to try and hide his pain." It was the truth, and the green eyes sparkled with agreement. How could they forget the Dark Tournament when Hiei first used the dragon?

The strange feeling wouldn't leave the curious carrot-topped male, as he stood up and followed the leader. "I'm coming too. Gotta protect Urameshi if hamster-legs wakes up and goes on a rampage, eh?" He solemnly joked, as he walked past the green suited man. As much as he despised the miniature fire-demon, Kuwabara hated the fact that he was injured even more. Truthfully, he just wanted to see if the little firecracker was alright.

A ruffle of red hair twirled gently, as Kurama shook his head. Those boys will never change it seems, and it put a smile on his face to see that there were people who cared about the mysterious fire youkai. He heard a commotion of the two verbally fighting as they made their way to the demons room, softly fading into nothing but the sounds of nature. He sighed, a smile still lighting his face, as he made his way to the kitchen to fix something to eat for him and his little friend when he wakes.

~ O ~

As quietly as the two boys could be, they sneaked their way into Hiei's room. The detective and the carrot-haired male both knelt down to the small mattress on the floor near the sleeping demon. Yusuke couldn't help but to mentally awe at the face that was spread across the small and usually stoic demon. He looked so young, so innocent. Unlike the usual rude and threatening glare that usually met his gaze.

Kuwabara's eyes widened at the new side of the little Shrimp. He had never seen him so vulnerable in his entire life, he even appeared to look _normal_. Was this really the same three-eyed half-pint that he once knew? Who would have known that he looked like this while sleeping. "Wow, Urameshi... I'd never knew that Hiei would look so... small..."

Hearing his conscious friend speak the demons name fully, he knew that he was serious and speaking the truth. "Yeah... He looks almost fragile..." Yusuke could see how Kuwabara thought that. He was the tallest in the group, and with Hiei's naturally short-stature, he looked even smaller when he was curled in a thick blanket. Reaching out, he gently brushed a few fingers across a heated cheek. "Like, if you were too rough... You could break him..."

Their voices were quite, speaking among themselves, trying not to wake the slumbering small man. Kuwabara's gaze narrowed once again as he felt that same feeling like before. This time, it was coming from Hiei. This was strange, however, he promptly ignored it. "C-Careful, Urameshi. You don't want to wake him..." He whispered quietly, keeping an eye on his friends hand as it moved to his unclothed forehead.

"He feels really warm, Kuwabara... You don't think he's sick, do you?" He asked, voice full of concern and hush. He didn't even need to place a hand on the little youkai to feel the heat coming off of him. Curious to know if it was merely the fact that he is a fire demon and his temperature is naturally high, or if he really is ill.

A sudden shift of the blankets, made Yusuke jerk his hand back, afraid that he had accidentally awoken the smaller demon, as they both stilled at the sight. Hiei merely moved his legs a bit higher, curling himself further into the warmth of the blanket, and snuggling his head letting out a small mumble.

The Spirit Detective sighed in relief, and scooted closer to him. Kuwabara wanted to giggle at the soft sound that came from the usually angry youkai. It seemed so unnatural that the softest of voices came from Hiei of all creatures. He reminded him of an innocent child, cuddling closer to the blankets that surrounded his small frame.

"You know, I'd never thought I would say this, but... Hiei looks kinda cute when he's asleep." Kuwabara whispered with a small smile on his face. He noticed his awake friend nod in agreement, as they both scooted closer. He could easily feel the heat that came off of him, almost like a little oven. Was that safe? Or was there really something wrong with him? Usually when they stood next to each other, he never felt these waves of heat rolling off of him before.

"Hey..." Urameshi said a bit worriedly, leaning over the heated male. Hiei's entire body was shaking uncontrollably, and a thin sheet of sweat was forming over his visible frame. Those softly closed eyes were now clutched shut, as a grimace took over his facial feature, like he was in pain. Small hands gripped tightly onto the fabric of the pillow that he lay on, as a muffled groan left his throat. "Kuwabara, get Kurama!"

Gray eyes darted over from the small and shaking frame of Hiei, to worried dark brown. "Right!  
>He said before darting to his feet and running off to get the famous Fox demon. His feet pounded against the wooden floors, as he ran as fast as he could. He knew that something was wrong from the start, but now it flew back into his mind at full speed. "Kurama!"<p>

~ O ~

Yusuke leaned forward to gently touch the trembling demon, managing a gentle hand on his cheek. A hiss left his lips when he felt how _boiling hot_ he felt against his palm, however, he kept firm. He could feel the skin on his hand starting to redden with a burn, but he knew that his friend needed him."Hiei?" He asked gently, tempted to wake the smaller male just to attempt to get him out of his strange nightmare.

Suddenly, ruby eyes snapped open in a stray of panic, eyes dilated thickly. Before Yusuke could ask, the quick half-koorime leaped at him. Urameshi wasn't one to dodge or attack back one of his teammates. Especially to an injured and possibly ill one, so he leaned back with a gasp, as he barely had time to realize what happened.

A rush of footsteps came louder, until a door slid open with a loud _shhh_ sound, as both of the redheads rushed in, but stopped at the doorway in shock. Green and gray eyes widened at the display in front of them, possibly one that they won't soon forget.

Yusuke held a shaking and heated little Hiei in his arms. Those little hands clutched tightly into the school uniform shirt that he had on. A head of thick and spiky black hair was pressed against the leaders chest, blocking half of his face from view, his eyes tightly clenched shut. Although, what made the scene more frightening, other than the fact that Hiei was practically sitting in Urameshi's lap, was the sound of light tapping that hit the floor and the mattress.

Even from the distance, Kurama could easily see the small little black pearls that littered the floor around the two embraced males. Following the trail, he noticed that Hiei was crying. Going up further, a worried expression shaped over the detectives face, along with confusion and a smidgen of pain. Even from this far away, he could feel the heat rolling off of the unstable fire-demon. Holding him was possibly like trying to hold fire.

Chocolate eyes moved up to look at the two with a confused and saddened look, gripping the smaller male closer, ignoring his skin boiling under the demons touch. "Yusuke! What happened?" Kurama asked, his soft voice taking on a more ridged edge, as he glanced down at the clearly distraught demon. He moved closer with caution, trying not to frighten Hiei, and braving the waves of heat energy that hit him, as he and Kuwabara moved.

"I-I have no idea! He was f-fine a minute ago. And then, all of a sudden he was shaking, woke up and then jumped me!" Yusuke spoke loudly, trying to hide the pain that riddled throughout his body wherever the demon touched. He had no idea what had happened to make their littlest team member act like this.

Kurama wouldn't dare touch the unstable fire-demon in this condition, something was definitely wrong, and he had to act fast. "Yusuke, we have to throw him in some ice water. He can't stay at this temperature for an extended period." He said swiftly, as he stood, coaxing the leader to standing with him.

Yusuke hissed as he stood, which startled the smaller youkai making him boil hotter in his grasp. Lifting Hiei up with an arm under him and another wrapped around his body, the raven-haired leader grit his teeth. "N-No Shit! Me neither!" He said, half joking and half serious. There was no way he was going to let him go now, it was clear that there was something wrong with their smallest member. He was clinging to him so tightly to his shirt, almost like a lifeline.

Kuwabara looked down for a second and picked up one of the little black pearls that littered the floor near the two. Rolling it in his fingers, it looked like a marble, but within he could see a small red flame inside of the little crystal ball. They very much reminded him of the hiruseki stones that Yukina would shed. This was very suspicious.

"Kuwabara!" The said male jumped, dropping the stone, and standing up to attention to the other redhead in the room. "We have to get some ice, quickly!" Kurama said as he jogged past him. Without a word, Kazuma immediately fallowed his teammate to help him fetch the bags of ice that they requested.

Then an idea popped into the carrot-haired man's mind. "Hey, Kurama, why don't we find Yukina! She could easily cool Hiei off!" He thought it was a great idea, instead of working around it and going against the redheads intelligent plans.

As they both ran into the kitchen, Kurama shook his head at the thought of Yukina seeing Hiei in such a condition. Not only that but he was crying, which would risk the chance of her finding out that he is her brother, and he couldn't risk it. Hiei was his best friend, and he was sure that the little youkai would never forgive him if he allowed Yukina to find that out, let alone see him in such a poor and weak state. "No, Kuwabara, it is just safer to do it this way. Please trust me on this."

~ O ~

Yusuke growled as he tried to bite back the yelp of pain from the burning demon in his arms. "Your going to be alright, Hiei." He said softly, as he ran to the bathroom. The door was kicked open, to the small and ordinary bathroom, as he made his way to the tub. Lifting an arm away and strengthening the other to hold Hiei straight, Urameshi plugged the tub up and turned the water on the coldest setting possible.

Next was trying to pry the little pipsqueak off of his body so that he could get into the tub. Making sure to be gentle, even though he was basically burning alive, Yusuke tried to pull Hiei off of him to no avail. He only seemed to grip tighter onto his clothes, and boil even more under his touch. The leader couldn't contain the yelp in pain, as he nearly jerked his hands away, but managing to keep them steady on the demon. It would be really bad if he dropped him, he was already injured, and dropping him wouldn't help him any.

"Damn it!" He yelled, more at himself than at Hiei. It wasn't his fault. Yusuke would blame himself for not figuring out what was wrong with the little fire-demon in the first place. He just wished that he didn't have to be boiled alive in the process. He could only imagine how the poor demon in his arms is feeling at the moment. He knew that Hiei wouldn't be doing this if he had control of himself.

The small youkai was shaking even more ferociously in his arms, and if he listened closely, it wasn't hard to hear him whimpering against his chest. Poor Hiei, he must be suffering. Could this really be a fever for him? Or was it a form of a panic attack? Who would know, perhaps Hiei was just angry and did this for kicks. Yusuke smirked, of course the latter wasn't the problem, he would never subject himself to this, Hiei would rather fall on his own sword than to purposely do something like this.

Snapping him from his thoughts, Kurama and Kuwabara rushed in with buckets of ice in their arms. "Urameshi, what are you doing? Put Hiei in the water!" Kazuma practically yelled, looking down at the little demon in his arms, he was looking worse as the seconds ticked by. His body was turning a sick pale color, but his cheeks remained a soft blush. Not to mention, he was still sweating, he looked very uncomfortable.

"You think I tried that already? He won't let me go! He just gets hotter and it burns like hell!" Yusuke yelped in defense. He didn't want to force Hiei off of him, it might do him more harm than good. Talking to him did little, if anything at all, Hiei seemed oblivious to the world around him; stuck in his own world.

Kurama placed the buckets he had, down near the tub, and pushed the couple towards the water, shutting it off since it was getting full. "Enough bickering, please. Yusuke, you just have to get in the water with him." There was no time for delay, Hiei needed to be cooled down before he would cause permanent damage to himself. It wasn't healthy to have his body at such a high temperature for so long, even if he is a fire demon.

The raven-haired leader nearly pouted, knowing that he would have to bathe with the known hot-headed half-koorime. Hiei would probably kill him if he knew what he was going to do, but it was for his own health. With a sigh and a small grumble, Yusuke braved the already cold water and laid down, pulling the youkai onto his chest.

With both of them in the water, it rose around Yusuke, as he lay on his back, and covered the youkai up to the middle of his back, as he rested on his chest. Even though Hiei needed the contact to the water most, Yusuke wouldn't switch positions, only because he was scared to crush the little guy with his own weight. Hiei was a lightweight after all.

The burns on Urameshi's skin were nicely numbed by the cold water, but it wasn't long before the water started to heat up from the demons body. Kurama poured one bucket of ice into the tub, between both Hiei's and Yusuke's legs. The fire-demon didn't move at the feeling of the ice between his legs, but the leader gripped harder onto the little demons back as he shivered and his eyes bulged. "D-D-Damn K-Kurama! T-Tryin' t-t-t-to fr-freeze my b-balls off?" Because of the height difference, Hiei's hips were pressed against the half-breed's stomach, while Yusuke took most of the ice attack.

With a swift apology, Kurama took a cup and scooped up some of the ice, and poured it onto the top of Hiei's back, watching it immediately melt on contact, the water rolling off in different directions into the mass that he laid in. "This won't work... Kuwabara, pour half of a bucket onto Hiei's back, but be careful, you don't want to put him into shock."

The tallest male did as he was told, and picked up a second bucket that they brought, positioning it carefully over the tub, before tilting it, gently, over the smallest team members back. Hiei yelped at the immediate contact that his scorching skin had with the freezing ice. He clenched harder at the leaders shirt desperately trying to find anything to grab, as his body started to tremble again.

Most of the ice rolled down to his lower back, as Hiei arched from the freezing touch. Yusuke started to shiver now as he was starting to feel the effects of the cold water. This was for Hiei, so he made sure to hold tightly onto the shaky demon. He didn't feel as hot as before, as the ice water was doing its job, now he looked to be shaking from the cold. He felt awful as the whimpering only grew into silent sobbing, as he could hear the light plopping of the tear-stones hit the water around them.

Pouring half of the bucket like the redhead asked, Kazuma pulled back immediately to allow Kurama to spread the piled ice onto the rest of his back. Under the heat of Hiei and Kurama's hand, the ice started to melt, but not as badly as when he first placed the ice onto his skin. This was a good sign, showing that Hiei was cooling down. "Sh-Sh-Shit...!" Yusuke stuttered out, his lips starting to turn a blueish tint. He was freezing, although, Hiei still felt warm, but not as hot as before.

The Fox demon's brows furrowed, "Yusuke, I'd suggest that you get out before you end up with hypothermia." He said softly, reaching out to feel the back of Hiei's neck for his temperature. He still felt warm, but was much better than he was before. The fire-demon could handle the freezing water, but the Mozaku demon can't, and Kurama knows it. He may seem tough, but it was clear to see that the cold was affecting him.

"N-No w-way." Yusuke boldly said, as he held tighter onto the cooling demon laying on him. "H-Hiei needs th-this. If-If he w-w-wants me t-to stay, the-then I will." His cocky attitude would probably be the death of him, but at least he would die with the knowledge of protecting his friend. It was in his nature to protect, and Hiei was no different.

Sighing in defeat, Kurama turned to Kuwabara to inform him to put the rest of the ice from the bucket onto Hiei. With a nod, he did just that and poured the rest of the ice onto the top of Hiei's back. Some of it was already melted into water, as it rolled down the whimpering demons back and into the frigid waters around them. Now, thanks to the volume of the bodies and ice in the tub, the water was high enough to nearly engulf the two up to their necks.

Yusuke couldn't feel his arms, but he still managed to rub the shaky youkai's bare back to try and comfort Hiei. He was still shaking, and from what he felt through his chest, he was getting cooler as the ice piled onto him and the waters. The youkai was breathing in shaky and uneven breaths, his fingers flexing in his, already wrinkled, green shirt.

Then suddenly, Hiei fell limp into his arms, with a deep sigh. Yusuke immediately took notice of his friend becoming non-responsive. "K-Kurama...! H-H-Hiei's not-not moving...!" His chocolate eyes widened, as he looked down at the tuff of hair that blocked his vision from the demons face. Of course he felt no heartbeat, he was a demon after all, Yusuke's heart still doesn't beat to this day. However, it greatly didn't help that Hiei's ki dramatically dropped when he fell limp in his arms. He knew that both of his teammates felt it too.

"Hiei!" Kuwabara yelped, as he leaned over the tub to look at the out-cold demon. He was so tempted to reach in and grab the little guy from his friend, but had to think logically and follow Kurama's orders. He was the intelligent one when it came to this.

Green eyes widened, as he rushed to place a hand on the middle of the youkai's back. His ki was draining quickly, possibly due to shock of the freezing waters. "Kuwabara, take Hiei and dry him off. Wrap him in a thin blanket, so that he can warm up slowly. I will tend to Yusuke." He said as calmly as he could, pulling the plug to let the water drain.

Kazuma didn't need to be told twice, as he gently grabbed the little fireball, and held him against his chest like Urameshi did, with an arm wrapped underneath him. Grabbing a towel with his other arm, he flung it around the smaller man's shoulders and jogged into Hiei's room. Leaving his two teammates in the bathroom.

Without watching where he was going, and thanks to his own clumsiness, he forgot about the hiruseki stones that Hiei had cried while he was being held by Urameshi. Stepping on the little crystals, he nearly flung Hiei over his head, but managed to hold him steady on his chest, as he squealed out a yell, falling onto his back. "Ow..." he softly said. With his own weight, not the mention Hiei's, it just added more pressure to his fall. Not that it mattered, the little guy barely weighed anything.

Blinking his eyes open, he jerked up and checked on his little friend. Hiei looked unharmed, but was still knocked out. Pulling himself to his knees, he shimmied his way over to the mattress, this time making sure to miss the evil stones that threatened to trip him once again. Sitting in the bed, Kuwabara wrapped Hiei in the bright red towel that he grabbed, and rubbed it over his body to dry him off. He wasn't burning off those waves of heat anymore, and his temperature felt closer to normal, but he was still cold to the touch.

Pulling the little fire-demon into his own chest, he did his best to try and warm him up as naturally as he could. While he held Hiei with one arm, rubbing his side to cause friction, he used his other to pick up the hiruseki stones around them, placing them in his jacket pocket. He wouldn't keep them, he just wanted to get them out of the way in case someone else trips on them.

As he picked the last stone up and put it away, Yukina walked in. "Kazuma, I was wondering where you were. Is Hiei ok?" She asked with her naturally soft and gentle voice, walking up to the two. Kneeling down, she looked at the pale figure in the taller males grasp wrapped in a towel. "He doesn't look too good. Where is Kurama and Yusuke?"

Kuwabara's heart leaped to his throat when he heard the lovely voice of his darling Yukina. He had a deep suspicion about the tear-stones, and wanted to ask Yukina about them. Perhaps she knew something that he didn't. Although, a strange feeling enveloped his mind that told him to not expose the stones to the ice maiden, and he promptly listened to them. He knew that Yukina has been searching for her long lost brother for all these years.

It took an entire heartbeat, possibly two, and the puzzle melded itself together. It clicked, Hiei was Yukina's brother! He couldn't pin it to any other solution. He knew that ice maidens had the ability to cry precious tear gems and knew of no other demon species that did the same. There could be no other possibility, Hiei was Yukina's lost twin brother.

He had heard of the story that she told, where he was born a fire-demon, and was chucked off the cliffs of their home to die. She had the suspicion that he survived, and went looking for him. Did Hiei even know? Probably, which is why he never revealed it to her to begin with, but why? He wouldn't want to anger the said demon, so he decided to keep his mouth shut about it. "Yukina! Yeah, Hiei isn't doing too good. Urameshi and Kurama..."

"Right here! Don't worry we were just cleaning the bathroom, Hiei had to take a quick bath. No big deal." The slick-backed leader said as he and Kurama walked into the room. Yusuke had a thick blanket wrapped around himself, as he walked over to Kazuma and the secret twins. Once he was out of the frigid water, and into a nice blanket, he felt much better.

The redhead smiled warmly at the sight of Yukina pulling back Hiei's bangs that fell into his face. If only she knew. Walking up to them, he sat down next to the group eyeing the half-koorime, taking note of his condition. His scent alone was strange, as Kurama silently sniffed the air to get a better reading. He smelt a mix of pain and anticipation in the air around him. How odd.

"Hiei will be fine, Yukina, don't worry. He's a tough little one, although we can't seem to guess what is wrong with him." Yusuke said with a shrug, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself. He was so glad that Kurama went to retrieve an extra set of clothes for him to wear. He had checked his injuries from the little half-koorime only to confirm that he had left multiple blistering burn marks over his chest. The cold water helped tremendously, and the Fox demon also helped apply a bit of aloe to numb it further.

Kazuma gently lifted the unconscious demon in one arm and grabbed the blanket on the bed to wrap him in. Once more, Kuwabara fathomed at the view of the tiny creature inside of the cocoon blanket. Hiei, as fierce of an opponent he was, it really caught him off guard that he could deem himself to look, dare he say it, adorable.

Even while unconscious, Hiei managed to defeat the odds of possible cuteness by cuddling further into the warmth of the blanket surrounding him, and then to the heat source that held him known as Kuwabara. "Aww, Kazuma, how sweet~. How about I get all of you some warm tea?" Yukina cooed out, her eyes never leaving the rare sight of the fire-youkai being affectionate for once, even if it is unintentional.

With a wide grin, Yusuke turned to the blue-haired ice maiden "That would be great, Yukina. Thanks." Just thinking about drinking a warm beverage had his whole body merely shaking with the familiar sense of warmth once again. It was strange to be boiling hot one second, and then freezing cold in the next.

Yukina smiled softly, and stood moving closer to the spiky-haired demon and redhead human. Leaning down, she gently moved a hand over the exposed cheek of the cuddling apparition. "I knew that he liked you all along, Kazuma. Thank you for being so kind to him." She spoke softly, placing a chaste kiss on the taller redheads cheek before walking away to fetch the warm beverages.

Kuwabara blushed madly, a massive smile clouded his face at the affectionate move. He giggled, feeling a rush of blood to face, trying to take in his manly pride. Taking the compliment in stride, he straightened himself out, and held Hiei tighter in his grasp, anything to make his Yukina happy. With extra effort, he made sure that the demon in his arms was comfortable, even allowing him to grip onto his shirt without worry.

"Damn, Kuwabara, don't fall in love with him, now." The Toushin said with a very small hint of sarcasm in his voice, making the other sputter, and nearly lose his grip. This was always worth it when it came to the little fire-demon. He knew that Hiei would never allowed the human to touch him like that and get away with it, alive that is. Perhaps there was really something wrong with him, it didn't seem natural at all. Maybe Genkai could shed some light on the situation.

"URAMESHI!" He would always tease him like this. It seemed more of a brotherly thing now. Even if Yusuke was a demon, he would always be his friend, no matter what. With an angry scowl, he made sure to not get over heated from the insult to his pride, he had to keep composure to make Yukina happy. If holding the little fireball in his arms would do it, then he would gladly comply.

Kurama couldn't pinpoint that scent that came from the demon. It was strange. His body was overwhelmingly hot. Boiling enough to burn Yusuke just from the contact. The only way to disperse the hot-headed demon was to literally dump him into ice water, but the scent still remained even though his temperature was heading back to normal.

He didn't look completely disheveled like before, now he looked more calm, although his body seemed to be searching for the warmth of another. Even when he was pouring waves of energy in the form of heat, he wouldn't release Yusuke at all, almost clinging to him for a sense of comfort. The great Shuichi didn't even have an answer to this; he was stumped.

With a sigh, green eyes drifted over Kuwabara as he clung tighter onto the unconscious youkai. He would have to talk to Genkai about his condition, knowing that only he could smell out this unique scent that came off of him. "Yusuke, being part demon... Do you smell anything different about Hiei at the moment?" It was an odd question in the spur of the moment, but he had to know if it was just him. Even Kuwabara mentioned something about Hiei's energy acting strange.

Moving away from teasing the poor redhead any further, he turned his full attention to the Fox demon beside him. "Huh, what, do you smell something wrong with him, Kurama?" There was no way that the kyuubi would lie about something like this. Even though he had a much more sensitive nose than most humans because of his change, he couldn't compare to the demon beside him.

With a nod, Kurama confirmed Yusuke's question. "It isn't his usual scent. I smelt a mixture of pain, anxiousness and something else that I can't really explain. Perhaps something close to desire? Although, I am uncertain. Even now, the scent still lingers but it isn't as strong as before when his temperature was spiking." The explanation was long, but he needed to give him a bases of what he was smelling so Yusuke could determine it for himself.

"Really?" The half-breed said as he pulled his upper-body from the protection of the covers closer to the cuddling demon in his friends lap. Closing his eyes, he concentrated his senses to smell, as he breathed in the scent of the fire apparition. The first thing that came to his mind was the scent of smoke and pine that defined the demon in general. If only he could get a better reading, it was hard with his undeveloped nose to smell what Kurama was getting at. "I don't smell much other than his usual scent. Kuwabara, let me hold him for a minute."

A tinge of anger flashed across his gray gaze, at losing his chick magnet, but he willingly lifted the fragile body into Yusuke's open arms and into his lap. The leader of the group re-situated Hiei so that his body was seated sideways in his arms, his little legs bent at the knee, over his right thigh, while his upper body was propped up by his left arm.

Pulling the blanket down, the Toushin knew that this would look strange to the human redhead, but he had to get a sniff for himself, maybe he could talk with Kurama about it to determine what was wrong with Hiei. The fire-demon's head leaned against his chest, a sea of spiky black hair with blue highlights and a white star-burst. This was the first area that held a more concentrated smell, and Yusuke pressed his face into the soft locks and breathed deeply.

Kurama didn't falter at the view, knowing that it was the best way for him to learn how to use his enhanced sense of smell. He didn't need to get as close, but when he was younger he had to do the same thing that Yusuke did as a kit in order to get the ability that he has today. The other redhead, however, watched the scene like they were a couple of aliens.

With the moving locks of hair, Yusuke easily could pick up on a different scent that invaded his senses, although it was difficult to pin into words. "I do smell something, now. I feel kind of... weird." It was hard to put into words in what he was smelling. The emotions that the little demon felt seemed to be molded to his scent, and now he could practically feel it when he put concentration into it.

His demon self was clawing at his consciousness, desperately trying to make its way to the surface. He held it back, but the feeling of his Toushin blood rushing through his veins clouded his movements, as he ventured further. A deep rumble came out of nowhere, as he moved away from the mass of hair, and lower to a pale throat. It took Yusuke a moment to realize that the sound came from him, as he nuzzled the soft neck to brush up more of the scent and make it airborne for him to breathe in.

The Youko within Kurama nearly made him growl out in warning at the other demons sound. That was a sound of dominance if the Fox has ever heard it before, Yusuke's demon self was making their leader unconsciously tell others around him that the smell that was being presented to him was his for the taking; and the redhead had an obligation to protect Hiei from anyone who would dare take advantage of him in his current state.

"I smell his pain." Urameshi said softly, nuzzling into the demons neck further to rustle up more of the intense area of concentrated smell. He felt Hiei turn his head away from the half-breed with a groan, ultimately giving him more room to maneuver. Yusuke's fangs pinched at his teeth to grow out from their human constraint to bite the flesh underneath, but he held them back with a strong sense of effort.

How he couldn't sense this before was beyond him, maybe it was because he was in pain from the youkai's burning body that he didn't smell it before, but now he could see where Kurama was coming from. "You're right. It has got to be desire along with anxiety. There's no doubt about that."

Before he would do anything he would regret, Yusuke re-wrapped the fire demon and handed him back to Kuwabara, covering himself into his own blanket. Kurama calmed himself to lash out at his friend the minute that his body was moved to the other redhead. If he were to give a response to that growl, not only would he be turning against their leader, but he would also be challenging Yusuke for Hiei. That was something that he didn't want to do, not that he couldn't try, but he didn't want to have to fight the strong Toushin. Yusuke wouldn't notice it consciously, but his demon self could easily slip through and fight for him, just like with Sensui.

"Man, that was kinda weird. I don't smell anything at all." Kazuma said mostly to himself, as he situated the little demon in his arms, making sure that he was comfortable like before. He has to look good for Yukina, and maybe he would receive another kiss for treating the little Squirt with care.

"Indeed, I knew that I sensed something like that. We will have to ask Genkai on her opinion now that we both have proof of his condition," Kurama said softly, turning his gaze over to the doorway to greet the ice-maiden with a small smile, as she walked in. They would discuss it later, but now Kurama had to keep in mind that Yusuke's demon side seem to be taking a liking to Hiei's scent. He had to protect him if he manages to lose control.

"Sorry it took so long, I decided to make some sandwiches. Is anyone hungry?" She said with a bright smile on her face, placing the tray in the middle of them on the bed. Turning to Kuwabara she tilted her head at the cute little demon in his grasp. Who would have guessed that Hiei would look so cute?

The minute she spoke, Kazuma perked right up making sure to hold Hiei close to put on a display of his tenderness like before. "Yukina! Wow, thank you, they look delicious!" He spoke tenderly, as he grabbed a cup and a sandwich for himself. "I will give Hiei half of my sandwich whenever he wakes up. I bet he will be starving!" The redhead said with a glint of pride, hoping to use this act of generosity to attract his lovely Yukina once more.

Yusuke couldn't help but to roll his eyes at the mindless redhead trying to grab the attention of the woman next to him. Trying to be bold and brave by sacrificing part of his meal for Hiei, typical. Although, he wouldn't doubt that if they were doing a mission and the food was scarce that Kuwabara wouldn't think twice than to share with the angry little youkai. Even if Hiei wouldn't dare do the same in return. He was raised off of pure instincts, and sharing doesn't exist in his world.

Kurama smirked at Yukina as she cooed and kissed Kuwabara on the cheek once again, making him blush and cradle Hiei more. He reached for a sandwich to snack on, when another hand met his, along with a low growl. Green eyes melded into gold for a brief moment, as he darted his gaze to look up at Yusuke's that had turned a deep copper color, the same as his demon form. In response, Kurama growled back, but they both didn't move their hand, nor take their eyes off each other for a solid heartbeat.

As if snapping out of it, Yusuke shook his head and widened his eyes, now back to their usual chocolate color. "Whoa, my bad, Kurama. Sorry about that." He didn't even know what happened in that brief moment, his mind went blank and when he regained himself, he noticed that they were both going for the same piece of food. Moving his hand over, he grabbed another sandwich and went back to watching over Hiei, trying not to entice the redhead further by looking at him. His instincts told him not to look into his eyes right now.

As quickly as Yusuke regained his consciousness, his eyes shifted back to their usual green. It seems that his demon side was enticed by Hiei's scent, which showed a bit of loss in his usual control. "No need to apologize. I am sorry as well." He tried to act normal, around the awkwardness that filled the room. He noticed that Yukina and Kuwabara were startled a bit, and staring.

Looking over at Yukina, and then back at the two as they both had their gazes locked on the Shrimp in his arms, he said out-loud softly "Well that was weird." mostly to his precious Yukina than anyone else, as he continued to eat half of his sandwich.


	4. Chapter 4: Shocking News

**A small shout-out to "Post U Later." Thank you for your encouraging support on this story. :3 This was the reason why I decided to post this chapter a day early.**

**Enjoy~.  
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><p>"Master Genkai, we have something to ask of you. It is about Hiei, and we were wondering if you would assist us in this dilemma." Kurama asked kindly to the pink-haired elder.<p>

Yusuke and Kurama both sat across a small table from the wise Sensei. They had both been discussing matters about Hiei and what could be causing these strange scents to be emitting from him. They are not very strong, and they can only be noticed by the Fox demon if they are in the same room. Yusuke has to be near him in order to pick up on the strange scents.

Since that moment where the leader unconsciously expressed his dominance over the little fire-demon, the Fox couldn't let his guard down. If Hiei had been awake, surely, he would have let his instincts take over and given a growl back, and perhaps a nip in warning. Even the scent from yesterday expressed that his body wasn't ready for such a move, hence the reason why Kurama had retained his control. However, Yusuke is still a newborn demon. He can't seem to control himself when such a noticing smell hits him.

Night has come to this cold day of confusion. The one thing that Kurama hates to be. He just couldn't understand why Hiei was like this. It possibly was from his injuries, but it seemed unlikely now. "Yeah, Grandma, he has a really weird smell comin' off of him." Spoke up, Yusuke, folding his arms in frustration.

It was easy to tell that the scent seemed to affect his mood a bit. Strangely, he seemed more agitated than normal. Ever since he has gotten a good whiff of that smell, his entire bodily instincts told him to go back to one who was emitting that scent. Why, he had no idea. "You dimwit. If he smells funny, then give him a bath." Yusuke blushed, and pouted at his answer.

Deciding that Yusuke's description wasn't deep enough, the redhead spoke up. "Genkai-sama, this estranged scent is somehow affecting me and Yusuke. Earlier today, his bodily temperature was so high, we literally had to put him in ice water to cool him down, yet the smell still lingered." The Fox demon was centuries old, but never in his days has he encountered a problem like this before.

Lifting her herbal tea to her lips, she sipped it and set it back down. "I can't smell anything, but I did feel his ki. It seems that the smell is only affecting demons. Not only that, but demons of high class. Yukina said that she didn't smell anything. Hiei is a level S class, and so are you two." She had a feeling that she already knew what was wrong, but she had to confirm it before she said anything.

Putting a finger to his chin, Yusuke pondered over what his teacher said. "Yeah, now that you mention it, Kuwabara said something about that earlier to Kurama, remember?" He turned to his redheaded friend in question.

"Yes. It seems that humans with strong spirit energy have the ability to sense something." Nodding, the Fox demon darted his gaze to his teammate and then over to the calm elder across the table.

Opening her eyes, she looked over at the intelligent one of the two. "What do you feel when that scent hits you? Be honest with me, don't sugar coat it." She asked seriously, expecting both to answer her.

Kurama spoke first. "Truthfully, Youko scratches at the surface of my consciousness. With years of patience, I manage to pull him back enough not to let him out. I am afraid that he might do harm to Hiei." It was the truth, although he did cover up a few things.

"Hmph! Well, when I smelt it I could hardly think straight." He remembers holding the little half-koorime close and practically blacking out when he was trying to smell what Kurama was asking him about.

A short laugh came from Genkai, as she sipped her tea once again. "How is that different than any other day?" She scoffed, enjoying the angry scowl that covered her students face.

"Hey, you old hag, I was just telling you the truth! It almost felt similar to when I was fighting Sensui and he took over without my permission!" Yusuke still remembers how angry he was that he was robbed of his chance to take down the bastard that killed him. Now, it is happening again, this time with his teammate Hiei. Hopefully, his demon side doesn't want to hurt him.

With a sigh, Genkai stood to get some more tea for herself, as she listened in on the two boy's problems. Sadly, her suspicions were being confirmed, this wasn't good. Sitting down with a new cup of tea, she sipped it. "As I suspected… The little Fire-brat is in danger."

Kurama blinked, worry etched across his features. "Danger? What could possibly be wrong with him?" The urge to rush back to check on the little demon rushed through his brain, but he held himself back. Hiei was strong, even in his weakened state, he could care for himself.

"The scent that both of you can smell will only become stronger within the next few days. Even with your calm demeanor Kurama, you can't hold back your Youko. Dimwit, on the other hand, he will cave in faster than you. I'd give it a day." She spoke with an unusual serious tone that sent shivers up the others spines.

Leaning forward with the same angry face as before, Yusuke barked "What do you mean by that?! I know how to control myself! I ain't gonna kill Hiei or anything! He's my friend!" Anger rushed through the flare of ki that he emitted. How dare she accuse him of putting Hiei in danger!

Rolling her eyes at her idiotic student, Genkai continued "Of course you won't kill him, moron! However, it seems that you have already been changed by the smell." Turning to the redhead her volume lowered.

"The danger that currently poses a threat to Hiei is that his scent will attract demons that are at his level, and even higher. You two, subconsciously, don't want to kill him. Don't think that those who come after him for the scent think the same. They will try anything to get to Hiei. Thankfully, since he is in the ningenkai it won't attract the low level demons that are here. Although, give it a week, and I guarantee that it will be powerful enough to permeate into the demon world." With her speech concluded, she sipped her tea once again.

This shut the two boys up, but at the same time, even more questions sprung through their minds. "Then how do we get rid of it, Genkai-sama? The scent was the strongest when he was nearly burning with a horrid fever." He could have sworn that if he didn't do anything then, Hiei would have surely boiled himself alive from how hot he was.

"Hmph." The sensei smirked. Even Kurama was stumped, this was funny. "There is only one way to get rid of it. However, you were smart to throw him into a cold bath, but it only postponed the inevitable." She wondered how long it would take for them to realize what was truly wrong with their friend; she guessed that Kurama would guess it first.

"Alright! That's it! Stop beating around the bush, Genkai, and just tell us what is wrong with him!" No one was going to hurt Hiei, if he had anything to say about it. He'd face the entire demon race just to try and protect his friends. Yusuke was at his wits end, and he was getting frustrated from this conversation. He wanted to know what was wrong with the youkai and he wanted to know now.

With a smirk, she sipped her tea, loving the reactions coming from her student. She loved pissing him off more than anything that is how he became stronger under her watch. "Well, if you are so curious… The scent that is coming off of the Fire-brat happens to be pheromones." Taking a glance at both of the boys, Kurama's eyes widened with knowing, while Yusuke's only narrowed in confusion.

"Ph-Pheromones…? Th-Then that means… Oh god…" Kurama stuttered, not believing the possibility of it all. Now it made sense. How Yusuke acted when in contact with Hiei, how his own demon-self wanted to break free. Even when the little demon grew hot, it all came together. A guilty feeling washed over the Fox; the poor half-koorime must have felt awful when being thrown into those freezing waters.

Darting his chocolate gaze between the pink-haired teacher and his redheaded friend, Yusuke felt completely out of the loop. "What the hell is going on here?! I don't get it! What is a Pheromone? Why is Hiei giving it off like that?!" The worried look on Kurama's face didn't help ease the horrid feeling in his gut that something was terribly wrong with his little demon. Was Hiei going to die? "Tell me, damn-it!"

Laughing at her moronic student's incapability to learn simple sex-ed., Genkai shook her head deciding to finalize it once and for all. "Hiei is going through his first Heat."

~ O ~

Deep auburn eyes opened slowly, taking a moment to realize where he was. His body felt sluggish, and tired. He felt generally exhausted for no reason, and extraordinarily overheated. Pushing the blankets off of him, he pulled himself to sit up with a groan of effort, raising a hand to his head to help calm his aching temples.

Sound didn't register to him, but another body knelt beside him, he could feel their heat. It wasn't until he felt contact, a hand on his shoulder, did he respond with a low moan. Everything that touched him felt a million times more sensitive. He couldn't remember anything since the night before when Kurama was cleaning his wounds. "Hiei?" It was a soft voice, one that rang with familiarity.

Managing the strength, the said demon lifted his head and opened his eyes wider to look at who was touching him. Blue hair tied back by a red ribbon caught his eye first, and then those same colored eyes stared back at him. "Yukina…?" Was all he could muster. She smiled kindly at him at the mention of her name.

He noticed her mouth was moving, but he couldn't register what she was saying, and she was looking somewhere else, as if calling over to someone. The feeling of another body sat at the other side of him, and it made him shiver at the scent. This was a male, and it shocked him how much it made his body heat up just from being near him even though he hasn't even looked over at him yet.

He heard his name once again, as he closed his eyes to try and calm his body down. What was happening to him? Why was he acting like this, it made him mad, but most of all it brought a sense of fear that he'd never experience before. He felt vulnerable. Was he sick? Kurama had mentioned something about his temperature going up when he spoke with him last.

"Hey, Hiei, what's wrong? Ya cold or something'?" The raspy voice spoke softly, as he reached out to grab the small demon. He was shaking, and his energy was going out of control. It didn't make sense.

The minute the other male in the room touched him, Hiei jerked, eyes snapping open and widening with fear and a different emotion that he didn't understand. Strangely, his mind was going a million miles a second, while his body was slack without any resistance. He gasped sharply, when he was pressed against a warm chest pulling his hands out to brace himself against it.

Then his other senses were floating in, smell. Just by the scent, he could immediately tell that it was his rival/teammate Kuwabara. Why was he holding him? Why was he reacting like this towards this idiotic human? He is stronger than him. "Wow, Hiei, you're really warm… Now, don't go burnin' me up like you did to Urameshi."

What did he say? What did he mean by that? Hiei wouldn't harm Yusuke, unless they were fighting. Even so, he knew that he had never beaten the strong detective, and now possibly never will. Pulling himself away, Hiei shook his head, palms flat against the broad chest he was against. "Why are you holding me…? You oaf…" He managed to say with an incredibly weak voice.

The redhead blinked at the insult, but it seemed hollow by the way he said it. It was like he didn't mean any of it. "Well, look at you Hiei! You are shaking so badly, and your energy is acting funny! Not only that, you look horrible!" It was true. The little shrimp looked like he was about to collapse again. He was still as pale as ever, but with that strange blush that covered his cheeks and neck. Not to mention, he was really hot to the touch but he was shaking like he was cold.

Yukina looked on at the little fire-demon with sad eyes. She had no idea what could be wrong with him. She could feel a fluctuation in energy, but other than that, she couldn't decipher anything. "Hiei, are you hungry? I made some sandwiches earlier if you would like some." She asked. The ice-maiden felt sorry for him.

He had to find a way to escape. He had to get out of here. That soft voice chimed in once again, instincts immediately responding to his blood sister as he turned to look at her with identical eyes. He shook his head. No, he wasn't hungry at all. He could last for days without eating. His body was after a different kind of craving and it scared him.

Pulling himself away from the warmth of the tall redhead, Hiei reluctantly pulled himself away from the comforting body. He shook more violently, bracing his hands on the floor to hold up his upper body. Taking a deep breath, the youkai pulled his legs up to help bring himself to a stand. Stumbling a bit, he slowly made his way to the doors that lead outside, ignoring the protests from both Yukina and the Baka.

The door slid open to reveal the cool night air on his heated skin, it felt nice. Before he could step out, he felt a body press into his back and arms wrap around his waist, picking him up. Eyes widening then snapping shut, he let out an involuntary moan, as he gripped at the arms around him. "I don't think so, Squirt! You ain't goin' out there by yourself! You're in no condition!"

It was maddening. The force of another male's body heat against his back sent his mind to spiral until he thought of nothing. His instincts told him to not fight back and allow the strong male behind him to do whatever he wished. The heat in his own body jumped at the mere touch of his arms around his sensitive waist.

However, Hiei, as instinctual as he is, decided to go against whatever they told him at this moment. Gripping the arms tighter, he forced all of his energy into his palms to burn whatever they touched. He heard the man behind him yell out and the arms unraveled themselves from his waist, along with the body behind him.

The Fire-youkai was dropped to the ground, almost falling to his knees from the force, as he flitted off into the darkened woods surrounding the temple. He heard his name being called after him from both his sister and the Oaf. It brought a pang of guilt in his heart to hear her cry after him, as he made his way deeper into the dark forest. He had to be alone.

~ O ~

Yusuke paced in his room at the temple grounds, walking back and forwards in a six foot stretch of floor. A hand under his chin in thought, while the other was tightened behind his back, his mind would not calm. _"Hiei is in heat…"_ The thought repeated itself over and over in his head. The more he thought it, the more his body yearned for the smaller demons company.

He felt like a caged animal, trapped in the iron bars of his own mind. Nothing was holding him back from seeking out the little half-koorime. It was just his own self. _"What am I thinking? How would this affect me?"_ Hiei was strong enough to fend for himself. He didn't earn the S title for nothing.

A growl left his throat in frustration at his racing thoughts. Yes, he had to admit that the Fire-demon smelled good when he held him earlier that day. That doesn't mean that it would really affect him in such a way that he would lose all control and do something drastic.

Immediately after the old hag had said that sentence, Kurama had stood up and left without a word. That redhead was their intellect man, whenever he said something, he was sure to listen. Now, even the Fox looked completely broken, something that he has never seen before.

Of course, Yusuke knew what a "heat" is. It is almost the same thing that female dogs go through, right? At least it was the same concept, he supposed. He knew for a fact that dogs don't raise their temperature up so high that they burn anything that they touch, like what Hiei did. Maybe it was a thing that all demons go through, but why does this have to happen now? Something had to trigger the demons heat to start, he knew for a fact that over the years he's known him this has never happened before. What could have happened?

Hiei was perfectly fine before the last mission started; all he did was get hurt, and they brought him here to heal him. Yusuke's mind couldn't help but to keep folding back onto the time earlier today when he saw the demon after Kurama had been with him the night before. The way he was shaking, woke up, and then leaped on him. He knew that this was part of the "heat" that the poor little demon was going through, but it still didn't help in calming his body down.

That Fox must have done something to him the previous night. Could he have been the one to trigger the "heat" to start? Possibly, it could have been the Toushin Leader. He didn't hear anything remotely close to what happened when he asked Kurama how Hiei's condition was this morning. Everything started to tumble when his temperature was out of control and he was gripping tightly onto him like a lifeline.

This was a mystery that only made another growl leave the leaders throat in anger. He wanted to know how this whole thing started. Instinctually, he was told that it was himself that triggered the "heat" to start. That sent a rush of a shiver through his body to have that feeling, it felt wonderful. To have the feeling that he was the one to start this newest sensation to appear on the small demon.

He had to know who could have started this. If Kurama had, indeed, been the one to start it, then he was going to make sure that it would be finished by their leader. Stopping the constant pacing, Yusuke grinned deviously. _"I guess I'll just go and find out for myself. Why not ask the guy in question who could have started this?" _The thought motivated him to move, this time towards the object of his desires.

~ O ~

Unlike the pacing that their leader had been doing for the past couple of hours, Kurama had been sitting in his room, doing the same thing. The exact same feeling that, unbeknownst to him, was being felt by his teammate just a few doors down from his room. The same questions sprung in his mind, and the same feelings of confusion and the unknown.

Yes, he has heard of demons going into heat before. This doesn't exclude males at all; in fact he was sure that they experience it more than females in the Makai. The Youko has never experienced his own heat, but has met others who have gone through it. The least that could be said about it is that it is uncomfortable, but there was a lot more about it then what has been shown.

Hiei is a fire demon, who is part ice. Possibly one of the rarest of demons in existence. A forbidden child, the Imiko. Every demon has their own way of keeping their bloodlines intact and making sure that they survive. With Hiei, he is more than likely considered a broken link in his existence. He was not meant to be, he was supposed to die the day he was born, but miraculously survived.

The Youko was centuries old and only known of one other Imiko in his years. He had died soon after from being hunted, whether it was from suicide or being caught, he will never know. Now, another Imiko has lived and is still alive to this day, this was Hiei.

It was clear to know from Yukina that both humans and demons alike would hunt down their kind, mostly for their rare tear-gems known as hiruseki stones. Yes, on the black market, they were an utmost rare gem that the female ice-maidens produced, but they were worthless compared to the stones shed by an Imiko.

Kurama remembers on his long list of priceless artifacts and treasures to steal, the one thing that he could never seem to get was a tear from a male koorime. The fact that such a thing even existed was beyond real. Even the Youko knew of the rarity of the male koorime's and not only that but that they never shed tears.

This was strangely perplexing, because the redhead knew that he had seen the rarest of gems litter the floor when Hiei was breaking through with the first stage of heat. Why was he crying then? Was he in that much pain that it brought tears to his eyes? He knew that Hiei had gone through much worse in the past, but something as this would bring him to tears.

The wise Fox folded his fingers to cover his lips in thought and narrowed his eyes. Of course his breed was, possibly, the only in existence. Yet, why did his heat start now? Being male, he is unable to reproduce like his female counterpart. Every 100 years an ice-maiden becomes pregnant through asexual means and gives birth to a female child, unless impregnated from a male, such as in Hiei's case.

Kurama's only assumption was that his heat was supposed to attract a mate. A strong mate, one that would protect him and help keep his bloodline alive. It is strange, however, that the pheromones that he is producing seem to only be affecting males instead of females. This is perhaps only because the only two S class males in the vicinity are himself, and Yusuke. There are no other demon females near here with that kind of class. Would females even be affected at all?

His mind reeled at the thought, pulling himself back a bit. Now he had a hypothesis to why Hiei's heat had even begun, but that only left more questions unanswered. Like why had Hiei been shedding the Hiruseki stones? Maybe his subconscious knew of the attraction that his tear-stones had with other demons, and was another feature of his heat along with the pheromones.

Nature was an incredible thing. The scent that Hiei let off would attract strong demons for a possible mate. This would bring out any aggressive behavior and any that would possibly take up Hiei for a potential mate would ensue a fight with others that thought the same. The winner would claim their prize, and normally, they would just leave immediately after the coupling. That is when the tears would come into play.

The hiruseki stones would help create a cement place in Hiei's life, as a prolonged protector. Everyone knows of the rare male koorime tear-gems, and they would have an unlimited supply right at their fingertips. The demon would have a selfish need to protect the male koorime from harm, as it was simple. A dead male koorime couldn't produce any hiruseki stones, while an alive one could. This would immediately provide a protection for Hiei, until an even stronger demon would take its place, for the same reason.

Even with all of these assumptions, which seemed accurate, there was still one question that lingered on in the redhead's thoughts. Why had Hiei's heat started now of all times? Was it the situation? His near death experience? Or just a strange coincidence?

It could have been because of his near death experience that triggered his heat to start, but that seemed unlikely. Hiei had been through several crosses with death in his lifetime, how come he never started his heat until recently? He had even heard that when he was fighting one of Murkuro's elite guard the little fire-demon was completely sliced in half at the waist.***1**

It could possibly be the situation that had occurred before. Hiei started to give off a strange smell when Kurama was bathing him and cleaning his wounds, although it wasn't nearly close to how it is now. Maybe he was just nervous at being bathed and nothing else. Thinking more deeply about it, however, made him assume that it wasn't just Kurama that helped start his heat, but also Yusuke and maybe even Kuwabara had an influence.

They were all strong fighters, and since he was injured so badly, his instincts took over. Without him noticing, his own body was sizing up the Fox, the leader, and Kazuma for a potential mate. Earlier in the day, Yusuke just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, since that was the moment when Hiei's body deemed it acceptable to begin looking for a mate.

Chances are that Hiei doesn't remember what happened to him when his heat first began. He was merely acting on pure instincts. The reason why the half-koorime leaped at Yusuke was possibly because of his scent. He happened to be the strongest demon near him and Hiei leaped at the chance to seek any sort of relief of his heat.

All of this left the Fox demon wondering, did Hiei even know what was happening to him? Probably not, since from all of the years of knowing him, he has ever experienced something like this before. He felt sorry for the poor youkai. Kurama could only imagine what he was feeling right now.

Sighing, the redhead stood up and walked out of his room. He was determined to explain to Hiei what his findings were and help calm him of any backlash that he may receive. He knew that the spark could easily set of a raging fire within the unstable demon. The half-koorime wouldn't take this news well, that, Kurama was sure of.

~ O ~

"Damn little Shrimp…!" Kazuma cursed under his breath as he held out his arms for Yukina to heal. Hiei had burned his skin to a dark red, but other than that he was fine. He had no idea what came over the tiny demon, although, he had a suspicion that grabbing him from behind wasn't the best idea in the world. Since earlier that day, he had seemed unstable and now he was out in Genkai's forest by himself. Not that he couldn't take care of himself, but it still brought a sense of worry that he could be killed out there.

Both Yukina and Kuwabara sat in the same room that Hiei had been resting before he darted off. They sat on the empty bed that once held the feisty fire-demon, but now was empty with ruffled sheets in place. _"When my darling Yukina is finished, I will chase after that runt and drag him back her myself!"_

Gray eyes blinked when he heard a door slide open, and turned to see their slick-haired leader walk in. Yusuke stopped in his tracks when he noticed someone missing. "Where's Hiei?" He asked, eyes still darting over the room to see if he had missed the shadowed figure. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that something was very wrong.

"Urameshi! You won't believe it! Hiei just ran off into the woods! I grabbed him to make him stop, but he burned me and then disappeared!" Now he felt awful for not containing the little half-koorime. He could only imagine how the kitsune would take it.

"What!?"

The sound of two voices rung high in the air, as Yusuke nearly yelled out his response with another who had just walked into the room. Kurama stood at the doorway, stunned to hear what had happened. "Hiei is out in the forest by his self?!"

The Toushin leader's demon blood nearly boiled with the knowledge of his fire-youkai in danger. He was in heat, and out there alone. He knew that the other demons that are lower class couldn't smell his scent, but it still didn't stop the fact that he was still injured. "I'm gonna go out to look for him! Don't wait up!" Yusuke said, his eyes flaring a deep copper color, stepping outside the same doors that he knew Hiei went through. His scent was like a small trail.

Kurama's eyes narrowed at the retreating back of their leader. Over the immense scent of Hiei's pheromones, it wasn't hard to pinpoint Yusuke's anger and worry. He knew that he had to get to Hiei first. With the raven-haired demon's ki being as unstable as it is, if he found Hiei first, there wouldn't be any doubt what he would do. Sadly, the fire-demon couldn't fight off Yusuke in his condition, he would probably submit.

"Yusuke, wait. I will search for him. I can track him easier, and if he is injured further I can heal him." Kurama spoke out, walking up to their angry leader, making him stop in the doorway leading outside. He swallowed thickly, as he watched him turn to face the redhead standing before him. His eyes were a menacing copper color, and it only expressed further what Kurama had suspected.

The Toushin took a step forward towards the Fox, making the other step back. "Is that a challenge…? Kurama?" He asked firmly, stating his power with a flare in ki. He was going to find Hiei first, if it was the last thing that he does, and no one was going to stand in his way.

Green glowed into gold at the offer. "Yusuke, I know of your intentions, consciously or not. I will not allow you to harm Hiei." His gaze never left the others, very serious about his decision. If he were to challenge his teammate for the Fire-demon, then so be it. Not that he wanted him for himself, but Urameshi wasn't thinking clearly, he was letting the pheromones blind him.

A short chuckle came from the raven-haired male. "Alrighty then. Hey, I like a good game. How's this. Whoever can find Hiei first is the winner, fair enough?" Right now, his demonic blood was rushing through his veins, and he wasn't thinking at the moment. All that he could register was that there was another demon after the same thing he was. A subconscious thought trickled through his blindness, stating that this was his friend. His comrade.

"I accept." Was the only response he gave, before he was gone in a flurry of pedals.

Kuwabara jumped up, "Hey! I wanna join in, too! That little brat is going to pay for burning me!" He hated to leave his precious Yukina behind, but he couldn't miss out on this challenge. He would find Hiei first and knock some sense into him for burning him earlier. In reality, he would probably just insult the little demon and then drag him back to the temple.

Yusuke was already gone when Kazuma said that he wanted to be a part of the search too. He didn't even see him leave! Eyes widened, as he looked around confused for a second, then anger as he dashed outside with the rest of his team. "Hey, you guys cheated! You had a head-start!" Yes, he wasn't a demon, and couldn't use smell to track down the runaway demon, but he did have his sixth sense to help him.

Yukina sat in shock as all three of the Urameshi team vanished one by one. Just from looking at how Kurama and Yusuke acted towards each other, she was sure that this was a dominant trait expressed on finding Hiei. What the kitsune had said to him made her wonder why he had said that. Their leader would never harm Hiei, right? That just seemed so out of place for the raven-haired male to do. He was known to protect people that he cared about.

"Don't worry, Yukina. Hiei can take care of himself." Genkai spoke up from the silence of the room, making her jump and turn her gaze over to the short pink-haired woman. _"I just hope that either Kurama or Kuwabara gets to him first. Yusuke would probably lose complete control if he finds him."_

"Oh, Master Genkai! You startled me…" The ice-maiden said with a jolt. She watched as the elder walked over to her and sat down. "Um… Genkai-sama, are you sure that Hiei will be alright? Yusuke… He had a dangerous look in his eyes… You don't think that he would hurt Hiei, do you?"

The elder sensei gave a light laugh at the koorime's innocence. "Yukina, honey, your definition of 'hurt' and mine are completely different. If dimwit manages to find Hiei first, there is no doubt that he will 'hurt' him, but not in a way that you think." She said as she folded her arms with a grin looking out towards the still opened door where the four fools left.

Yukina blinked in confusion, looking at her caretaker. However, she would never question Genkai's words; she was wise and obviously knew something that she didn't. If there was any true danger towards Hiei, she would have done something about it. "Yes, Master Genkai… Oh, you would have never guessed, but he was so cute today. Cuddling up next to Kazuma, it looked so unreal~. It was almost comical." She joked, glad that her suspicions were eased slightly.

Smiling slightly, the pink-haired elder gave out a raspy chuckle in agreement. Of course she knew that Hiei was only acting as such because of his 'problem,' but it was still funny to hear about the hardheaded demon acting as such. "Is that so?" She spoke out with a laugh. "It seems that the little Fire-brat is going a bit soft, huh?"

"Maybe. But I like him like that. I feel closer to him than before…" She said with a small smile that graced her lips as she looked out the same door that the team left out of. She only hoped that they all made it back safely. Kurama and Yusuke could easily fend for themselves, but Hiei was injured and possibly not feeling well to start. Not to mention, Kuwabara was a human. Could he even survive an entire night out in those demon-filled woods?

"They all may be morons…" She started with a sigh, looking down and shaking her head. "But they are my morons. If they don't come back by morning, I will look for them myself."

* * *

><p><strong>*1 – In the anime, Hiei was only injured severely at the waist, while in the manga he was actually sliced in half.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Hunting

_**Here is a treat for all of those who have read and reviewed.**_

_**Happy Halloween, everyone~!  
>1031/14**_

* * *

><p>The night was clear of clouds, and a cool breeze blew through the trees. Even though there were no sign of rain, an eerie scent of the incoming perspiration filled the air. On the ground a thin fog made visibility minimal for those who traveled on foot, but the treetops were clear of the burden.<p>

A black figure darted through the branches heading deeper into the dark woods. His speed was unmatched by any that crossed his path, usually never tiring. However, on this night, his breath clouded in front of him in short pants as he sped through the trees. _"What the hell is wrong with me? I never tier, especially so quickly."_

Landing on a sturdy branch, the shirtless figure knelt to catch his breath. His stomach twisted in the familiar ache that reminded him that he was still injured. Luckily, the shadowed figure hadn't ripped open any wounds, yet. Sound and sight seemed to diminish, as touch and smell enhanced. This wasn't like him at all, what was happening?

Every single brush of a leaf against his skin made him shiver with an unknown sensation. Everything down to the misty ground, he could smell out perfectly. If he concentrated, he could make out a buck a few meters away, grazing. Usually, the sounds of nature would envelope him into sleep, but tonight his body refused to rest. The strange scents that attacked his senses were overwhelming and made his mind race.

This didn't help the fact that he was still extremely hot to the touch. A pale hand reached up to touch the ward over his Jagan. He felt feint, and his vision could only make out things a few feet in front of him, the rest were blurred colors and shapes. Sound could hardly register over the slight ringing in his ears. Was he dying? Why was this happening to him?

Over the natural instinctual need to find another person, preferably a male, Hiei decided that he needed to find some water. Thinking back when Kurama had put the medicine on his body, it nearly made him gasp. Was it that strange medicine that was making him act like this? However, he had stated that he wasn't feeling good before he started applying that strange smelling medicine. The Fox wouldn't purposefully do this to him; he is too kind for that.

Shaking his head a bit, Hiei continued through the branches, having to squint to keep focus. He has been on the run for over thirty minutes that he timed, and doesn't plan to stop until he finds some water to wash in. Usually, he could smell out a small pond, but his senses were jumbled. He just had to keep moving forward, he couldn't stop. If a stray demon finds him in this condition, it could spell the end of him. He was in no condition to fight any demon at the moment.

It was all so strange. Why was his body responding like this? It was like he didn't even have control over himself anymore. The Fire-youkai is a strong S class demon, tamer of the darkness flame technique, and master of the Jagan eye. Yet, running will catch him out of breath? _"This is ridiculous!"_

An angry growl left his throat, as he pushed himself to run faster. There was no way he would be weakened enough to slow down. He needed to get away, for reasons he couldn't figure out. Usually, when there was anything wrong with the little half-koorime, the first thing he would normally do would consult Kurama about it. This, however, was beyond embarrassing. His body was thinly covered in sweat, and a strange feeling mixed within his stomach. It felt similarly to nausea, but he didn't have the urge to throw up. There was no way he would subject himself into seeking out the Fox, or anyone in that matter, to help him.

A bare foot landed on a mossy branch, the limb slipping out from underneath him. Hiei gasped, as his chest made contact with the soft, yet, hard surface as he fell forward. The wind was knocked out of him, as pain shot through his body. His limp form slid quickly back, falling through the mess of thin branches as he made his way down to the ground.

He landed on his back, his vision clouding even further, as his lungs tried to breathe in oxygen to no avail. Along with the sensation of being unable to breathe, he felt an immense amount of pain from his stomach, and the warm feeling of a liquid dampening the ground he was on. Hiei rolled to his side and clenched an arm around his abdomen.

Focusing on one thing at a time, the youkai tried to take deep breathes in, only to managing short gasps. His breath clouded in front of him, as he tried to clear his vision. He fought the urge to simply pass out and give in to his body's weakness, but he refused. There was no way he would fall victim to his strange instincts that surrounded his mind.

Eyelids fluttered open as his senses were slowly returning to as normal as they could be; he placed a hand down against the cool and damp grass in front of him. The feeling made him shiver as he pushed himself up with a grunt of effort to a seating position. The arm unwrapped around his stomach to his current view, close to his face. Red stained the bandages that contained his black dragon pet, and his palm. Great, he ripped open his wound again.

Ruby eyes looked up to the tree branches that he fell from, noticing that they were also splattered with the same red tint. A sigh left his quivering lips, as Hiei pulled himself to his hands and knees crawling over to the tree that he fell from. For some reason, being in this position brought a feeling of anxiousness to sprout from his body. He didn't like it at all.

The Fire-demon quickly, as he could, clawed his way up the bark to allow him to stand once more, and continue his journey. With palms flat against the tree in front of him, he let out a breath as he finally was able to take a deep inhale of oxygen from his fall. Turning his gaze to look behind him, he peeked over a shoulder to look at the blood stained grass that he landed on.

With his head bowed, Hiei sighed and moved his wobbly legs, using the tree as support, and walked around the hunk of wood. Surprisingly, and mostly to his luck, a small pond with crystal clear blue water shined in the moonlight. Auburn eyes widened, as he nearly leaped for the liquid. Now that he saw what he had been searching for, the half-koorime only just noticed how parched he had been.

Stumbling from his weakened body, Hiei landed on all fours at the edge of the pond. Panting, Hiei took a moment to look at his reflection in the mirror-like waters. He looked awful. Reaching a hand up to touch his cheek, his eyes narrowed in concentration at his complexion. His normally healthy peachy skin color now resembled a pale off-white, only definable through the deep red blush that stained his cheeks. Was this because of the blood loss? Was he running a fever? There has got to be something wrong with him, for his body to respond like this.

With another dreadful sigh, he placed his hand back on the ground, and decided that perhaps a drink of cool water would help him. He felt dehydrated anyway. Leaning his upper body down, he spread his knees to balance himself as his lips touched the tastefully cold waters surface. Ruby eyes closed, as he concentrated on the feeling of the liquid entering through his chapped lips, swirling around his tongue and gliding down his throat.

Immensely, he felt much better; his entire body felt cleansed. The wound on his stomach now only throbbed with a dull ache. His body didn't feel as exhausted, and he seemed more sated than before. Who would have guessed that such a simple thing as water could help cure the smallest of complications? Pulling in a large gulp of water in his mouth, Hiei lifted his upper body back up and swallowed with an audible sigh of relief.

Leaning back down, right before his lips touched the water's surface once more; he paused, eyes snapping open. He heard something. Staring at his reflection, he concentrated on his hearing and sense of smell. The fire-demon knew that he had heard the sound of the grass rustling from nearby. Sniffing the air, he kept his body still, as he sensed out another being. It was a male from the scent, which sent his body into an array of involuntary shivers.

If he was attacked, there would be a chance for him to win, if it was a low-class demon. Most of the filth in these forests roams from E-C class. If he managed to get into a tussle with a strong C class, then he could possibly get killed. He didn't have his katana with him, and only could rely on his bare hands as a defense. His ki was already dangerously low, which signaled a beacon in these woods as a weak target for food. This was not good.

A low growl emitted from a nearby bush, making Hiei dart his wide-eyed gaze over to the two golden eyes that looked at him from the darkness to his right. His vision was already messed up enough, and it irked him that he couldn't make out the creature that looked back into his own gaze. From the sound, it made him shake in a sense of fear that he couldn't make out an energy signal from the creature. Those eyes didn't look familiar, the only others that came to his mind were Yusuke's demonic form and the Youko. However, they wouldn't attack him while he was in this condition, would they?

Without taking a chance, Hiei immediately jumped to stand, ignoring the pain that shot through his body and made a dash to escape. If he couldn't fight, then he would have to try and outrun it. The moment he dashed off, he heard the harsh rustle of the bush that hid the creature as it followed him easily. _"Kuso…!"***1**_ His speed wasn't enough to get away; he could smell the bloodlust in the air coming from the other creature that was following him.

The golden-eyed demon possibly knew of his condition and was purposefully trying to tire him out, before going in for the kill. That wasn't going to happen. After darting through the trees for a few minutes, Hiei came into a clearing and stopped in the middle of it, turning around to face his attacker.

A rustle of leaves from a tree signaled the creature's arrival, as a black figure leaped out into the clearing. With the moonlight as his guide, Hiei's eyes looked up as the demon appeared before him, landing a few yards away. Its werewolf-like figure was hunched over, its ears twitching atop its head and a tail swishing behind him, as another growl rang in the air.

Hiei prepared himself, getting into his normal fighting stance to try and fend off the attacker. Hopefully, other demons didn't follow him, or else they would just sit back and watch, picking off the weakened winner or dead loser. "Don't mess with me…" He whispered, hopefully, trying to bluff his way out of fighting.

The bluff didn't work, as the darkened creature lunged after the Fire-youkai with a demonic snarl. A sharp claw shined in the moonlight, as it dashed towards Hiei. It was fast, but the half-koorime was faster, as he jumped out of the way, hearing the sound of the claws swipe at the air. This demon seemed rather stupid, and could be easily defeated. "You asked for this…!" Hiei said, as his fists glowed in a white-hot flame.

The creature's eyes narrowed, as it charged once again, this time Hiei didn't move. A sharp claw reached up once again to attack its target, but this time a fist intercepted it, protected by fire. With the flames creating light, ruby eyes widened as the creatures face was illuminated. His first assumption was correct. It was a gray-furred demonic wolf-breed, with a long muzzle rimmed with sharp teeth. Its glowing yellow eyes bore deep into his own red ones.

Both figures jumped back, creating distance between each other, the creature's body slinking back into the darkness. This time, Hiei ran for the attack. With the fire on his fists lighting his way, he swung back and swiped forward toward the wolf-demon. It dodged easily, as Hiei continued with his barrage of fast punches. _"How in the hell?!"_

The creature leaped back, Hiei following in his steps trying to catch him off guard. With a growl, the fire-demon has had enough. Pulling his fist back, he charged his ki into the flames that surrounded it, and pushed his hand forward, unraveling his hand to release the energy all-together. A flamethrower bursts from his right arm; the fire of the mortal flame lunged forward to devour anyone in its wake. He was too weak to use the darkness technique but he wouldn't want to waste his dragon on such a lowly creature anyways.

The flames caught a few trees on fire, but it was still difficult to see if he had even made contact. Hiei stood silently, and listened over the crackling of the fire for his foe. He had a feeling that he was still alive. Ruby eyes looked around, his hair waving in the wind, as sparks danced around his figure worshiping its master.

Eyes glancing back at the tree a few yards in front of him, he felt a pang of guilt in his heart for it. He loved trees and nature; he even went out of his way to help protect them and Yusuke when he was being attacked by Sniper. The wind picked up the fire, carrying it higher into the branches and to other neighboring trees. He would have to snuff out the fires when he is done with his battle, or else he could destroy this forest.

Hiei gasped, as he heard the shuffling of grass behind him, and barely had enough time to turn around before a figure lunged at him. It was so quick, as his body was pushed back until he connected with the hard oak that he was just looking at seconds before. His vision swam in darkness, barely making out the same golden eyes that he thought he killed. This was not good, how could he be so defenseless like this? "Sh-Shit…!" He managed to mumble before a clawed hand wrapped around his throat, restricting his breathing, not that he wasn't already knocked out of breath from hitting the tree.

A snarl rose from the taller wolf-demon, as his shinning teeth were licked by a disgusting purple tongue. His glowing golden eyes narrowed, as he squeezed tighter onto the pale throat, making a gargling noise rise from the trapped youkai. Hiei reached up to grab at the arm with both hands, desperately raising his ki to burn the limb that held him.

He grit his teeth as the hand squeezed even tighter around his throat, closing his airway completely. Darkness started to creep into the corners of his vision, as lightheadedness started to cloud his mind. The longer he remained deprived of oxygen, the weaker his ki became, as his grip onto the furred arm loosened. Not that the mortal flame seemed to be doing any damage, this fur seemed to be a form of defense against both heat and cold.

Hiei's legs dangled worthlessly against the tree's trunk, as he just noticed that he was suspended by the clawed arm that held him in place. He was trapped. Lidded ruby eyes looked up into those glowing eyes one last time, as he saw his fate being sealed by the other clawed hand rising, blocking out the moonlight. The fire-demon, on the verge of fainting, closed his eyes to try and relish in the last moments of life, before this creature would rip him to shreds.

The sound of flesh tearing ripped through the air, making the already weakened demon flinch, as blood splattered over his face and body. Surprisingly, the pain did not come. It was silent, and a gust of wind blew through his hair, ruffling it before stilling. The clawed hand around his throat loosened. _"What…?"_

Managing a gasp of air through the still tightened fist, Hiei opened his eyes, first lidded then widening at what he saw. Golden eyes stared back at him in shock, blood dripping onto the ground in a rhythmic beat. Clearing the momentary darkness that threatened to take hold of him, auburn eyes blinked looking over the creature once again. The claw that threatened to kill him, still remained high in the air, unmoving, until he saw the culprit. A thick sword-like projectile was punctured through the wolf's skull, between his eyes.

The sound of flesh slicing filled the air once again, as the sword pulled out. Hiei could have sworn that he saw another pair of golden eyes through the creatures head, visibly by the new hole in his forehead. The wolf fell with the momentum of the sword as it was yanked out from behind him, and landed on his back. Hiei sighed in relief as he felt the clawed hand release his throat, his body slumping down to the ground. He took a deep breath in, closing his eyes to concentrate on getting the precious oxygen back into his lungs.

"Hiei! Are you alright?!"

That voice, it sounded so familiar. Once he managed to get his breath back, the first thing that came to his senses was smell. Wrapping both arms around his stomach, the fire-youkai shivered as overpowering scent of a male enveloped him. It made it even worse when the male that saved him knelt beside his trembling form. Why was he so affected by the scent of males? It didn't make any sense!

"Hiei, are you hurt?"

An arm wrapped around his shoulder, forcing him to bite back a moan from the contact. With a lidded gaze, Hiei looked up at his savior, the scent of a familiar friend wafted through his mind. The first thing that he saw, was a figure dressed in darkness, only the moonlight giving off a few key features that signaled who this man was. The most visible of them all, were those emerald green irises.

"Kurama…"

The Fox demon sighed in relief to hear the fire-demon give a response, anything at all. His heart nearly stopped when he smelt fire deep within the woods and knew that it had to be Hiei. He wasn't far off the trail, but that made a huge beacon of energy and smell that covered over the scent of pheromones that he was following before.

Luckily, he had made it in time to see a demonic wolf strangling his friend against a burning tree. Now the flames were died down, possibly in response to Hiei's current condition, the fire was a part of him. The Youko within broke free for a split second, as he pulled out a weed and transformed it to a sharp weapon. He was sure that if he had been seconds late, Hiei would have been killed.

Now that the adrenaline was calming, his body was now responding to the injured demon leaning against the tree. The scent of blood was thick in the air and a surge of the need to protect and tend to the little half-koorime came to the front of his mind. With careful eyes, he looked over the shaking figure for any signs of injury. Green eyes darted upwards at the bark of the tree to see a line of blood trailing down to where Hiei sat. "You are injured. Let me see."

Hiei couldn't hold back a groan, as his right arm was lifted and moved away. Careful fingers traced the reddened bandages over his stomach, making the smaller demon hitch in breath and move his head away. A light panting made those emerald eyes glance up to the others face, before reluctantly letting go. The pheromones were getting stronger.

"Ah, damn-it!"

Green molded to gold, as Kurama rushed to cover any visibility over Hiei with his own body, facing the opponent that interrupted him. A feral growl left his throat at the sound of the approaching opponent who would dare try and take Hiei away from him. The Youko wouldn't allow anyone near. All he could comprehend was another male's scent inching nearer, which meant a challenge that he would gladly take.

"I guess ya won, Fox-boy. You just got lucky! I'll get'em next time, though." A slick-haired man stood with his arms crossed a few feet away from the couple sitting on the ground. A rush of hormonal anger attacked his pride for not being the first to find the stubborn demon. He couldn't believe that he lost. However, it seemed reasonable since he didn't have such a developed sense of smell as the Fox; he thought he could still try anyway.

"Yusuke!?" Immediately, Kurama melded back into his normal form, gold rushing back to green. He was just about to attack the other demon; it seemed that Hiei's scent was really getting to him. "Next time please do not sneak up on us. I was just about to attack you." Perhaps that is just what the leader wants him to do; to initiate a challenge for Hiei.

Chocolate colored eyes looked down at the dead wolf-demon, then back to his teammates, mostly concentrated on the smaller male. Even with his untrained nose, he could smell out blood on Hiei's body. Even with the pheromones affecting him, a need to protect and nurture overpowered the need to mate. The fire-youkai was injured and needed to be healed.

Walking over to them, he noticed that the poor little demon was shaking uncontrollably. This was probably due to the scent of the males around him, and his body was responding to it. Making sure to walk to the other side of Hiei, not near Kurama, he knelt down and rested his elbows on his knees. Being this close, he could smell the pheromone better, but it was covered up with the scent of pain. "Nice to see ya up, Squirt. But I didn't expect you to run off the minute you woke up."

Hiei shook even more violently when the second male came close to him. He hardly noticed him there after the Fox's initial protection maneuver. Even through his fogged mind, he responded to the detective with a low growl. He needed to be alone. His body was acting strangely, like at this moment. He tried to play it off, by being cool and saying his usual catchphrase, "hn…"

"Yusuke is right, Hiei. What you did was a bit foolish. You could have been killed if I hadn't made it in time to save you." Kurama said with a low voice, ripping open the bandages wrapped around the shaky demon. Pulling out a seed from his hair, he flared his ki, before dropping it to the ground. It sprouted into a beautiful blue flower. Since the wound wasn't bleeding profusely, there was no need for the previous plant that he used yesterday.

Dipping his fingers into the middle of the flower, a sticky, sappy, purple fluid stuck to his fingertips. "This might tingle a bit, but it will help stop the pain." He warned, before applying it to the largest wound on the youkai. Hiei was not bleeding to death, but he could easily smell the pain that came from his body. Before, the fire-demon had nearly died of blood loss, and when he reopened his wound, he had to stop it immediately. This plant was just made to stop the pain that it came into contact with.

Small hands gripped the grass below, legs quivering at the feeling of the immense and shocking sensation that surrounded his abdomen. His head dipped down, as he concentrated on breathing, letting out a soft groan as a cold feeling rushed past his body. After the initial shock of it, the pain slowly seeped away into a cool and numbing touch.

Yusuke blinked at the groan, tilting his head and leaning down to look closer at the smaller demon. It took everything in his power not to rub his face into those soft locks of hair, or against that heated neck with a soft purr. It would be a sign of comfort that he would offer, but with Kurama there, he would possibly retaliate. Getting into a fight so close to Hiei wasn't the best idea; he could get caught in the crossfire. "Alright, Pipsqueak, let's get you back to Grandma's. I'll carry him."

Kurama shook his head, "No, I insist, I'll carry him." Loosening his ki, the plant receded into a small seed once more, and he placed it back in the safety of his hair.

Dark brown eyes narrowed, "Nah, it's alright. I got this. Besides, you're probably tired from fighting that wolf. I'll carry him." He stated, reaching for the dazed demon.

The Fox growled deeply in his throat, catching both Hiei's and Yusuke's attention. This stopped him in his tracks, recoiling back from touching the heated demon. The fire-youkai shook at the sound of the dominant male, while the detective's ki flared in response. "I am not weakened by this little fight. I will carry him back."

A show of fangs glittered in the moonlight, as another growl emitted into the air. Yusuke glared back into those green eyes, just daring for him to move. "I already said, I'll carry him."

Hiei frowned, glancing between the two angered demons. Why were they so caught up on who will carry him back to the temple? He can walk, they should know. "Don't I have a say in this?" He asked.

"No!" Green and brown eyes darted to the fire-demon, making him jump, before going back to staring down each other.

His scowl only deepened, as his left eye twitched in irritation. "Fine, while you two fight over such a ridiculous topic, I'm leaving." He said before pulling his legs up from underneath him to help him stand, using the tree as support. As he stood, however, both the redhead and the raven-haired male stood as well. With another "hn" Hiei started to slowly walk off towards the temple, gripping an arm around his abdomen.

Walking past the fired up Detective, he blinked as he felt a hand wrap around his free arm. "Where do ya think you're goin'?" The mere touch sent his body back into those involuntary shivers, once again. Glancing over his shoulder, he took notice that Yusuke had a firm hold on his small wrist, while keeping his eye contact with the Fox.

"Release him, Yusuke…" Kurama warned, his energy flaring dangerously. Those malicious emerald eyes fading into the Youko's gold. Yusuke was touching Hiei without his consent. The inner Fox demon wanted to rip off the leaders arm in retaliation, but held back.

Ruby eyes glanced down to the fist that held him, following his arm up to the detectives head. Swallowing thickly, he tried to calm the way his body heated up just from the mere touch. "The Fox is right, Detective. If you want to keep your arm intact, I suggest you let me go." His voice was smooth, still trying to put up the tough guy act. He didn't want anyone to see that he was slowly losing control of himself.

The air was quite, only a small gust of wind blew by the trio, ruffling their hair until it stilled. Hiei's gaze never left his leader that still had a firm grasp on his wrist. The Toushin never left the line of sight from the redhead just a few feet away from him. The minute someone would move, there would be hell to face.

"Hey guys! I finally found you-!"

Yusuke quickly pulled Hiei back behind him, making sure to keep a firm grip to keep him from slipping away. His other fist glowed with the pending shotgun technique to any attacker who would dare interrupt his current challenge. He was sure that his ki would have scared off any incoming pests.

Hiei stumbled, only managing to stay standing from the Toushin's hold on him, as he was yanked behind the taller male. A blush rushed up his face at the feeling of being controlled so easily. It was unbelievable that he could be tossed around like this. He guaranteed that when he was feeling completely better, he would vow to kill the detective once again. He hardly heard why he suddenly felt the need to protect him.

Kurama immediately pulled his attention away from Yusuke and to their newest foe. Fighting each other can wait, he was sure that Hiei wouldn't be harmed since he was held by the strong demon beside him. Although, a feeling of anger rushed through his body at the knowledge that he still had a hold of the fire-youkai.

Blinking his golden eyes back to green, the Fox pulled an arm in front of their leader to stop his attack, looking at who had interrupted them. "Kuwabara?" It was dark, but that rough and scratchy voice was unmistakable.

The said redhead froze in place, his hands held in the air showing his innocence. "Hehe… H-Hey guys…! Looks like ya found the Runt…" He said slowly and carefully, making sure not to scare Urameshi into using that shotgun blast on him. Walking up to them slowly, he could easily feel the tension of energy in the air. Something was about to go down before he said something, he was glad that he managed to find them in time.

Now that they were distracted, Hiei placed his other arm around the wrist of the hand the held him in place and yanked it off. He was free, but the sudden momentum of the movement made him stumble and fall back. _"Curse my weak body…!"_ Closing his eyes for the incoming pain of his fall, he was sure to land on a few open wounds, once again the pain didn't come.

It was so fast, he didn't even notice it. Slowly opening his eyes, ruby red stared back into chocolate brown. Blinking, he looked around and noticed that he was suspended in the air by two strong arms, one under his upper back, and the other under his knees. He didn't even feel himself get caught by the strong Toushin.

"Ya gotta be more careful, Squirt. You don't wanna injure yourself more, eh?" Hiei's eyes widened at the strange tone that came from Yusuke. It sounded like something that he usually would say, but the tone sounded way off, a deep and low rumble instead of his happy pitch. His body caught up with his brain, as he started to tremble once again, this time a dizzying feeling nearly knocked him out. Closing his eyes, he took a few breaths in to calm himself, reaching up to grip at the Detectives shirt unconsciously.

"Hey, is he ok?" Kuwabara asked with sincerity, watching how the littlest demon in their group was, literally, falling apart in their leaders hands. His breathing sped up dramatically, and he was shaking even worse than he has ever seen him. What was wrong with him?

Kurama had to grit his teeth to keep from lashing out at the other, he could harm Hiei accidentally. Being so close to the taller male, he could smell the pheromones that radiated off the small demon becoming stronger. This had to stop, or else Yusuke could lose control. The tone of his voice was just another warning sign. "Kuwabara. I need you to carry Hiei back to Genkai's. Please."

The tallest redhead moved his gaze over to the spoken male with a curious view. An eyebrow lifted in confusion. "Uh… But Urameshi is carrying him…" He didn't want to get in-between the two demons, afraid that the same tension as before would spark into something. Yusuke looked completely content into carrying the smaller demon, even if Hiei looked like he was going to fall to pieces.

As calmly as he could, Kurama spoke softly to the tense Toushin. "Yusuke, please relinquish your hold on Hiei, and hand him over to Kuwabara." The tone sounded dangerous, the same as when he would be speaking with an enemy. It made shivers go down Kazuma's spine. He had to make sure that if Yusuke would run off, he would be ready to give chase.

Chocolate irises blinked slowly and moved up from looking down at the demon in his arms. Looking over at the clearly irritated redhead over to the confused one, then back to those green orbs. The scent of Hiei's heat had clouded his mind the minute he caught the smaller demon. The last thing he wanted to do was to let go. However, just from the sound of the redhead, he knew that if he were to try and run, he would be attacked regardless of who he carried.

A stuttered moan came from the fire-youkai, immediately catching everyone's attention. He was sweating, and trying to hold back his sounds by biting his bottom lip with eyes clenched shut. A hormonal rush of protection sprouted in Yusuke's veins, making him grip harder onto the spiky-haired shorty in his arms. He took a deep breath in, savoring that wonderful scent that made him want to leap onto the poor half-koorime, then letting it out slowly.

Walking over slowly to the timid redhead, Urameshi stopped in front of him, moving his terrorizing gaze over to Kazuma. Lifting Hiei away from his body, he didn't say a word as he kept his eyes locked onto those gray ones.

Blinking, Kuwabara slowly reached for the shaky demon in his friends grasp, moving his own eyes away from those frightening eyes and to the Runt's face. Positioning his arms under the body, he made sure to get as close to the other side of Hiei, so that he would be closely pressed against his body as possible. Although, the Toushin didn't release the Fire-demon just yet, still gripping tightly onto his body like a lifeline. "If you drop him… I won't be afraid to kill you…"

Kazuma's eyes widened at the threat, looking up at his friend, almost making that fatal mistake when Yusuke dropped in in his arms. He stumbled a bit, but managed a strong hold onto the tiny demon, with a sigh of relief. Once situated, he glanced over at the other redhead to notice the same menacing glare that Yusuke had. It seems that both of them were very serious on Yusuke's threat. Swallowing thickly, Kuwabara slowly made his way around the two clearly stressed demons and started his trek back to Genkai's temple.

He could feel both of their glares digging into his back, making another shiver go up his spine. Luckily, they didn't follow him back just yet, which helped to relief some of the tense stress that he had to keep the Fire-demon safely secured. "What the hell is wrong with those guys…?" He whispered to no one in particular. He noticed that Hiei's eyes were closed and his shaking has gone down tremendously to just momentary shivers. The sweat was thinning out, and his body heat was slowly returning to normal. That harsh panting was lengthening out to normal breaths, although it didn't stop completely.

"I-It's probably me…" The voice nearly made Kazuma jump, almost dropping the body in his arms. "C-Careful y-you f-fool!" Gray eyes looked down to see lidded glowing ruby's staring back at him. He thought that Hiei had passed out, but he was wrong.

"H-Hiei! Uh… Sorry." He was startled to see the smaller male awake after something like that. He was sure that he was attacked by that dead wolf-demon he saw earlier. Shaking off his apology, he continued his steady walk back to the temple. "What did ya mean by 'it was probably you?' It's not your fault that Urameshi has territorial issues…" He nearly growled out, hating that the leader actually scared him with his death threat.

As much as he hated the giant oaf, he was grateful that he was being carried. He was sure that if Yusuke hadn't stopped him he would have probably collapsed a few yards away just from exhaustion. "Something is wrong with me… I don't understand what it could be…" The scent of another male was still swimming around in his head, but it wasn't as powerful as before. This was a human, and it probably didn't affect him as badly than with a demon.

Kuwabara nodded, trying to come up with a solution in head, but couldn't think of anything. "Maybe you can ask Genkai?" His rough voice rang through the silent forest, making the smaller male look up from his daze. "I've noticed that you seem much sicker than you appear to be, but I don't know what could be wrong with you."

Taking advantage of the leisure, Hiei rested his head against the strong chest letting out a soft sigh. A headache was starting to form at his temples. It irritated him that he had to be carried by the Baka, once again; he would complain, but he just didn't have the energy to. "I don't feel sick. I just feel… abnormal…"

Kazuma nearly laughed at the confused youkai, but refrained from it. "You got that right, Shorty. Do you remember earlier today when you were so boiling hot you managed to singe Urameshi?" It was a moment of worry, but now it seemed like a distant memory even though it only happened today.

Managing a glare, Hiei looked up at the man carrying him, and growled out lowly. "You mentioned something like that before…" He remembered, right before he left the Idiot said something like that before he left for the woods. "What did you mean by it?"

Gray eyes blinked, looking down at the demon in his arms, shocked. "How could you not remember?" He could have sworn that Hiei was conscious the entire time they bathed him. "Well, you suddenly latched onto Urameshi, and then we had to throw you in an ice-cold bath to cool you down because you were burning up so badly that you were even hurting him!" He didn't mean to sound like he was accusing him of a crime, but it just surprised him that he couldn't remember something like that.

Ruby eyes widened, than narrowed as they darted off to the side in embarrassment. "I had no control of my body…" How he couldn't remember that also surprised him, too. He would definitely remember clinging onto the Detective and then being thrown into a cold bath. He hated to be cold. "I didn't mean it…" Now he felt a bit bad for something that he didn't intend to do. He didn't mean to hurt Yusuke, he was just probably trying to help him and he attacked him without warning.

Kuwabara knew that he hit a soft spot in the stone-hard demon he was holding. Now the guilt radiated off of him, permeating into his own self-consciousness. "Aww, come on half-pint. I know you didn't mean it. Urameshi knows it too, it was clear to us that you couldn't control yourself." He shouldn't have said anything, but at least he knows something else that could be a symptom of his current condition.

"Hn…" The fire-demon said coolly, folding his arms and looking away, ignoring the small blush that crept up his neck. This conversation was over in his opinion. There was no way he would admit to the Oaf that he was right.

The awkward silence crept in over the two; the only sound was the footsteps that Kuwabara took, as they made their way through the forest. It didn't bother the three-eyed demon in the slightest, but it did seem to make the redhead squirm a bit, it was quite amusing.

"Oh yeah! I forgot something!" Red eyes widened as he looked over at the other male from the outburst, then narrowed when nothing was wrong, giving out a low growl in response. He already had a headache, yelling only made it worse. The Baka stopped, and somehow managed to keep the demon airborne with one hand, as he used the other to dig around in his pockets.

Looking up he concentrated to try and find what he was looking for in his long white jacket pockets. The sound of the little black gems clanked together, as he rummaged through it, managing a small "Aha!" as he pulled out what he was looking for.

A thin black eyebrow lifted in confusion when a small plastic-wrapped object was dropped on his stomach, his entire body shifting to allow Kuwabara to regain his normal hold on him. He still didn't continue walking, but smiled down at the curious demon. Hiei blinked, as he lifted the small plastic thing to get a better look at it. "What is this?" He asked.

"It's a sandwich, Tiny. I brought it for you. You're probably starving." Kuwabara said with a wider smile.

Hiei felt a tinge of a weird feeling build in his heart at the caring Buffoon, which he would deny to his dying day. With another "Hn…" he actually felt hungry when he mentioned that. He does remember that he hasn't eaten at all since he came here, but that didn't make him want to eat whatever food came his way. He was an S class demon; he could survive days without eating. "I don't want it-…" He said as he was just about to chuck it to the side.

"-Yukina made them."

Hiei paused, gripping tighter onto the wrapped food so it wouldn't fall from his hand. Yukina? His entire body responded immediately to the word of his twin sister, his hunger spiking suddenly. Of course the minute that he found out that his sister had slaved over making this piece of food, he would never turn down such an offer. He loved her and felt that he would disrespect her if he were to just toss aside something that she had made.

_"Bingo… Damn, I've got to stop hangin' around Boton so much…"_ Kuwabara thought, as he saw the fire-demon pull the food back to his chest, almost cradling it. This only helped to confirm his suspicions of Hiei being related to the ice-maiden that he had before. The little fire-brat never respected anyone, other than Kurama and Yusuke, but when it came to Yukina he always seemed to respect her the most.

"Hn…" He growled out, ripping open the plastic wrap and throwing it to the ground, not caring about his littering habits. "Fine… You're just lucky that I feel a bit hungry…" He said before taking a bite of the sandwich. It was delicious. He wasn't sure if it was because it was made by his sister, or that he was just really hungry, but it still made his taste-buds tingle.

Now that he was satisfied with his answer, Kazuma resumed his walking with a smile on his face. A short chuckle left his lips as he watched the smaller demon eat the sandwich like it was the last piece of food on earth. "You must really love your sister, don't-cha?" He whispered out in a low and rough voice covered in a caring tone.

Ruby eyes darted open wide when he heard what the Oaf had just said. Was he just imagining it? His airway was one again, blocked off by a piece of food that suddenly was jammed in his throat. He let out a choking sound, as his eyes clenched closed to try and swallow the food that threatened to kill him.

Kuwabara laughed as he pulled the smaller demon upwards and pressed him against his chest, making sure that his head was over his shoulder as he patted his back to help him swallow. He knew that it wasn't funny that his friend was choking, but it still made him laugh to see his assumption was now completely correct. Hiei was Yukina's lost brother.

Tears gathered at his closed eyes, as he finally managed to choke down the piece of food with the aid of the other's hand tapping against his back. Taking a few breaths in and coughing for good measure, Hiei reached an arm to his eyes to rub away the tears before they would spill over and solidify. "Wh-What did you just say!?" He demanded, as the hand that was on his back now rubbed in small circles, in a comforting fashion.

"Nothin' Small-fry. Just hang tight, we are almost at Genkai's, alright?" He said after his initial giggling. He could feel that they were getting close to the temple grounds. The little black pearls in his pocket felt a bit heavier thanks to the knowledge that he had confirmed. It didn't bother him at all. He knew that he would have to give into telling Yukina the truth sooner or later, and with these rare tear-gems, they could be a happy family.

Hiei growled angrily, folding his arms on the man's shoulder to rest his chin on, as the Oaf held him tighter. He knew that he didn't imagine the Baka saying that. There was no way that he knew that Yukina was his sister, right? With a yawn, he slowly closed his eyes planning to just rest his eyes on the way there. The hand on his back was also surprisingly soothing enough to lull him into a light slumber. "When I get better… I'm going to kill you…" He threatened with a tired voice.

Kuwabara scoffed off the threat, knowing that it was just his automatic defense kicking in since he didn't have anything else to say at the moment. Score one for Kazuma Kuwabara!

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><p><em><strong>*1 ~<strong> **Japanese for "Shit," meaning a curse word.**_


	6. Chapter 6: Recovery?

**UPDATE: 12/6/14**

**I am officially terminating this story...**

Just kidding~  
>Chapter 7 is on the way. I was going to post it today, but a series of tragic events occurred on this day, and it has kept me from officially completing it.<br>I am quite content with the amount of reviews I am receiving, and I will continue this story indefinitely.  
>Chapter 7 should come out either tomorrow or the day after.<br>Thank you once again for those who have been checking back here constantly to see if there is another chapter, and of course, those who have reviewed.

Also, for those reviewers who have done so anonymously, I would strongly encourage you to get an account. I would love to thank you personally for your constant encouragement on this story.

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><p>The minute the taller redhead was out of earshot, an angry howl erupted and the sound of a tree falling in the quiet forest. Yusuke stood with his bleeding fist airborne in the same place where the tall tree used to be. The same one that had the smaller demon held against it from the crazed wolf creature.<p>

Kurama stayed silent, merely watching the Toushin unfold. The pheromones were almost like a drug, and now it seems that Yusuke was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Not that the Fox wasn't affected either, he just had better control over his actions. Every fiber of his body was screaming at him to follow the scent and claim the half-koorime as his own, however, he managed to sustain himself.

A low growl of internal fury left Urameshi's throat, as he finally pulled his fist back. He closed his eyes and breathed out of his mouth, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself. Pulling his hands to his hair, Yusuke went back to his pacing in a six-foot length to try and reel in his thoughts. It took everything in his power to not think of their littlest comrade, to chase after the redhead and kill him before throwing himself onto Hiei.

Green eyes sparkled at the sight, following his leader as he paced like a caged animal. It was quite sad, actually. The scent was strong, and still lingered in the air from where Hiei had been before. For the Fox, he could still smell the scent very well, but Yusuke was probably being affected more strongly thanks to his low tolerance. Kurama had been exposed to pheromones before, and has allowed his body to calm when it came around. He remembers his first time when he had ever caught a whiff of pheromones, he acted similarly to Yusuke. He could not blame him. "Yusuke… Would you care to take a run with me?"

A snarl left the pacing man, as he paused for a moment to look at who was speaking. Those familiar emerald eyes were now a shimmering gold colored and narrowed in question. It took a moment to realize what he had said. Was it a challenge? "What do ya mean by that?" He asked, pulling his hands down into fists once more at his waist.

A smirk played on Kurama's lips, as he felt his Youko emerge deep within his body. The scent has awoken him. Red flowing hair grew longer and sparkled into beautiful silver, along with a perky tail that swished valiantly behind its master. Similar colored, twitching, ears grew from the top of his head, as an array of pedals twirled around his figure covering him from view of the Toushin.

Chocolate eyes narrowed, thinking that this was a challenge, as he watched the pedals fall to the white shoed feet of its master. Looking up, he saw the infamous Fox of legend. Youko Kurama in the flesh, the same white attire that usually suited him in all. "Calm yourself, son of Raizen… I do not offer a challenge for the mating of the Imiko."

That smooth, deepened but equally as silky, voice rang in the air at the tense raven-haired male. Easing the glare a bit, Yusuke walked boldly up to the tall seven foot demon, unaware of showing himself at this moment of all times. "If you don't want a challenge, why did ya show yourself now?" He knew to keep his distance; the taller silver-haired demon could easily attack without so much as a muscle movement.

A light chuckle left his pink-tinted lips. Youko remembered how he acted very similarly to how Yusuke is acting right now. Anyone that would cross his path he would immediately challenge them for the pheromone scent that he would catch a sniff of. "I am asking that you return to your natural form and run with me. Let's shed some blood to help us forget the scent that is plaguing our minds." This would always work whenever he would have to get his mind off of something.

Chocolate eyes widened, and then narrowed again. It sounded like a good idea, tearing apart a few low-life demons in the woods. The familiarity of fighting, sweat, pain, and blood would easily help him concentrate on anything else other than that delicious smell that still lingered around them. "Alright, Fox-boy. I'll play your little game… But if you ever signal anything-"

"-I would never attack you without informing you, Yusuke. I am much more honorable than that." Kurama interrupted, as he smiled once again. This wouldn't be a game at all, both of them would just be out on a killing-spree to help free their spirits and ease their minds. Heading back to Genkai's would only cause more trouble.

Dark-brown eyes slowly closed, feeling his demon blood coursing through his veins, even stronger than before. He felt the weight of his hair lengthen almost down to his feet, feeling the marks on his body beginning to form into his ancestors tattoos. Opening his eyes once more, instead of the usual brown of his human form, a deep copper color covered over them. "I'm ready when you are." He huffed, still a bit edgy from the pheromones that hung in the air.

With a smirk from the silver-haired Fox, both of the S-class demons disappeared in a millisecond, out to enjoy their demon heritage of bloodshed and murder to cleanse their spirits.

~ O ~

"Kazuma!"

A blue-haired ice demon yelled out as she noticed the tall redhead walking towards them carrying a black figure in his arms. She rushed over to the couple, making the said man nearly leap for joy after hearing his name from his sweet maiden. "Yukina!" He screeched happily.

Getting closer, the ice-demon paused and gasped when he realized who the human was carrying. A slump Hiei was held safely in Kuwabara's grasp, pressed against his chest as he rested his chin on the man's broad shoulder. His thin arms flung over the same shoulder, as his body was held in place by strong arms. "Oh my goodness! Hiei-san!" She gasped, as she rushed over to place a hand on the fire-youkai's back.

With a wide smile, Kazuma held the tiny demon tighter, and looked down at his precious pearl. "Don't worry, Yukina-chan! Shorty will be just fine. He's a little banged up, but with a good night's rest, he'll be ok."

A rough chuckle lit the air around the trio, as their attention sprang to the elder woman that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Heh, he probably got 'banged up' alright, that's for sure." Her grin lighting up her wrinkled face. Just the thought of that little brat getting laid made her laugh. She could still feel the little Twerps energy going haywire just as before, so it was clear that he was still experiencing his heat.

The redhead and the ice-maiden merely lifted a brow in confusion. What did she mean by that? "Huh…?" Kuwabara asked, as the wise woman turned and walked away with another curt laugh. His orange brows furrowed in thought at what the elder had said. Did she know something that he didn't? Was there something really wrong with Hiei?

"Kazuma, let's get Hiei inside. I have noticed that he hasn't been feeling well, and it wouldn't be wise to have him out here in the cold." The quiet Yukina spoke up to the taller man holding the tiny demon. It made her smile to see how calm the fire-youkai acted when he was being held. It was so unlike him, but it also brought a sense of joy to see him open up more.

Straitening up immensely, Kuwabara turned to his princess the moment she spoke, ignoring the previous curiosity. "Of course!" He smiled, happily, shifting Hiei in his grasp before walking inside the large temple with his blue-haired flower.

Walking ahead, Yukina pulled open the doors for the orange-haired man to walk through with ease, going inside and shutting the doors behind them. "Thanks, Yukina." Kuwabara said as they both walked to Hiei's room.

Yukina and Kazuma both made their way to the single bed on the floor, kneeling down next to it. The taller male easily shifted the smaller demon in his arms and placed him gently onto the bed, pulling the covers over his frail body. Gray eyes looked over the sleeping figure with a smile over his face, as a sigh left his lips. "This little Twerp will be the death of me…" He said with a giggle, as he placed a hand on the little Dragon's forehead.

~ O ~

Narrow red eyes blinked opened from the blinding sun's rays that came in through the windows. His entire body felt heavy, and exhausted, a tinge of pain rummaging through his abdomen. His senses were scrambled, thin eyebrows furrowing in confusion of where he was at the moment. Raising a heavy hand, he placed it over his face to try and rub away the sleepiness that overpowered him, with a stifled yawn.

Hiei pulled his hand away, and pushed himself to sit up with a groan of effort. Tired ruby eyes moved around the room he was in, only to realize that it was the same one that he was staying in before. With a frown, he thought for a moment. Didn't he run away into the forest? What was he doing back here?

Everything seem to flood back, like a dam breaking open; making him sway nearly falling over, but managing to keep steady as a hand grasped his head. The wolf-beast, then Kurama saving him. The strange affliction between the redhead and Yusuke. The Oaf coming to carry him back. Lifting his head once more, he looked around the room a second time to see if there was anyone there. No one was, thankfully.

A sigh of relief left his lips, as he pushed himself to try and stand. Being killed nearly twice really put a strain on him, and he was hungry. Managing to pull himself to a shaky stand, Hiei slowly and carefully made his way to the kitchen, using his sense of smell to lead him. Judging from the smell, he could easily detect that his sister was here, along with the Idiot and Genkai.

Finally making it to the kitchen, the merciless cold tile attacked his feet sending an uncomfortable shiver down his spine. He always hated to be cold. Using the counter as leverage, he sniffed the air to find some food. The sandwich yesterday wasn't enough to satisfy him, maybe there were more that his secret sister had made. Sadly, he wasn't the best cook in the world, most of the time he would hunt for his food. Burning the food with his own fire, most of the time it would be burnt or undercooked, never perfect. He didn't care, though. He did what he could to survive.

To his dismay, all he could catch with his sense of smell was a smell of plastic and metal. Curious, Hiei pulled open the cabinets to find a small array of these metal cans with pictures of food on them. It would be simpler for him to just run off and kill a rabbit for a quick meal than to deal with these human contraptions known as a "stove" and "refrigerator."

With a growl, he shut the cabinets, and pulled an arm over his stomach. "Are you hungry, Hiei-san?" A soft voice rang through his ears, making him pause and freeze in place, eyes widening. Turning himself around completely, he immediately saw his precious sister standing at the doorway to the kitchen. The dragon was frozen, he couldn't move. The only creature in the world that could paralyze him like this was his precious sister. A small ice-maiden, making an S-class demon feel equally as weak and powerful at the same time.

Swallowing thickly, the blue-haired demon shifted at the stunned sight of the fire-demon that she knew. It was a bit nerving to have him stare at her with such shock, but she got over it and walked up to him. Those same red eyes stared into hers, as she smiled sweetly. The height difference wasn't profound at all, they were practically the same, except that Hiei stood taller only because of his hair. "You just rest, Hiei. I will make you some soup, ok?" She said quietly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

The minute that hand touched him, Hiei blinked and moved his gaze from her equally fiery eyes to her soft hand that touched him. Retreating, he looked back at her once again, before nodding. She just smiled at him once more, even brighter, and removed her hand walking past him to prepare the meal that she promised. Hiei didn't look back, but kept his gaze firmly ahead, trying to get control of his body once again to do as his sister wanted.

Gripping tightly around his abdomen, Hiei forced his feet to move automatically out the same door that he had come from, heading back to his room. He was so unfocused on where he was going that when he turned the corner to get to his room, he ran into something tall and hard. His body froze once again, as he blinked rapidly at the scent that wafted to his nose. The same scent as before, but all he could comprehend that it was a male, which made him shiver, but he wasn't going to be fazed.

Shaking his head, Hiei put up his free hand to press against the clothed chest that met his gaze to push himself back a few steps. "Hey, Tiny, looks like you're doin' better." That scratchy voice and that usual short-insult were unmistakable, as he looked up at the tall redhead with a shocked face, and then narrowed his eyes in a glare. "What are you doin' up anyway? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"What were you doing in my room, Baka?" He asked with a nasty glare that would send the smaller humans and demons alike scrambling for cover. The redheaded male only laughed heartily, making him break into another set of involuntary shivers. It seems that he wasn't completely well, as his body was still being affected by the scent of other males in the vicinity.

Daring himself, Kuwabara placed a large hand on the black locks of the smaller demon and ruffled up his hair with a playful smile. "I wasn't doin' anythin', Squirt. I just wanted to see how you were doin' is all." That little talk they had the other night still made him smile and brightened his day. Their friendship was getting stronger, a good note to take since the fire-youkai hasn't fed him to the Darkness Dragon, yet.

Pushing the Oaf's hand away with a growl, Hiei scowled at the caring Idiot. "I am fine. You wasted your time looking to see if I am well." He scoffed, moving his gaze away from the taller man, with a blush that he still would deny. With a sigh, he walked past the gentle-giant and made his way to his bed, sitting down with a small stumble.

Kuwabara paused, and frowned at the tiny demon as he walked past him. He was still shaking a bit, and didn't look healthy at all. His skin was still that deathly shade of off-white that made him look sick, but with a stunning blush that lit his cheeks up. _"Must be a part of the fever that he is having." _He thought, as he followed Hiei into the room, kneeling down next to him. "Is there somethin' wrong Hiei? You don't look so good." He said truthfully, "Is there anythin' I could do for ya?"

The seated Dragon scrunched his shoulders at the scent of the other male in the room, turning his head away from him with another sigh. "I'm not so sure…" He spoke with honesty. Just hearing the redhead speak his name without a joke notified him that he was being serious. "You could tell me where the Detective and the Fox are. I can't sense them." Strangely, his mind kept creeping back to yesterday when he saw those two at each other's throats just to carry him back.

"I don't really know. They've been gone all night and haven't returned." Kazuma said with a shrug, thinking about that dangerous look in Urameshi's eyes when he handed over the little Runt. And that threat. Luckily, he won't be on the wrong end of his Spirit Gun for bringing the demon back safely.

A door slid open, making both of the males in the room jump and turn their attention to the newest guest. A lovely Yukina held a steaming bowl of soup in her hands, as she smiled sweetly. "Good morning, Kazuma." She said softly, before walking over to the seated demon on the bed and placed the bowl in his shaking palms. "Here you go, Hiei. I thought that a nice hot bowl of chicken-noodle soup would help calm your stomach."

Red eyes were wide once again, as he automatically did as she commanded without words. He gripped the bowl from her hands, the heat not affecting him at all thanks to his heritage. He knew that it would be grateful to say 'thank you' but he couldn't come up with the words. He just sat there and stared at her with wide eyes, swallowing thickly. The smell was wondrous, and made him nearly drool at how hungry he was all of a sudden. "H-Hn…" Was all he could manage, as his blush darkened, finally ripping his gaze away from her and at the bowl in his lap.

Even the ice-maiden knew of Hiei's social skills, and just from the look on his face she knew that this was the closest that she would get to a 'thank you.' "You are welcome, Hiei. Enjoy, and take it easy, alright?" She said with a short bow, before standing up. "If you need me I will be attending to the garden." With another smile, she walked out of the room.

"Hey, Yukina, let me help you with that!" Kazuma yelped happily, as he shot up and raced after her with a giddy giggle. Hiei blinked down at the soup listening to the fading footsteps and voices of her valued sibling and giant-Oaf, until they were nothing more than the sounds of nature.

With a truthful smile that only would appear when no other soul was around, Hiei happily lifted the spoon utensil and started to eat this estranged 'chicken-noodle soup' that his sister had made for him To his surprise, it was actually really delicious. It felt warm as it passed through his lips and down his throat, nestling in his stomach making a feeling of satisfaction hum through his body. The noodles were a strange add to it, but didn't mind it as he gladly slurped up the flimsy little strings. What made it worth the while were the bits of meat that were mixed in the soup. It tasted a lot like the demonic birds that he would feast on in the demon world.

The clanking of the spoon hitting an empty bowl sounded too loud in the quiet room, as Hiei sighed in content. He was full, and was also sated when it came to his thirst at the same time. He would have to remember this 'chicken-noodle soup' for next time when he is with Kurama so that he could teach him how to make it for himself.

With a huff, Hiei made his way back to the kitchen to try and clean up after himself so his sister wouldn't have to do it. She had made the meal; it was the one who would eat that had the responsibility for clean-up. Quickly soaping up a sponge, he got to work on cleaning the spoon and the bowl. With the dishes wet, he easily raised his body heat to both sanitize and dry the ceramic bowl and metal spoon before putting them away where they belong.

Rubbing a fist over a tired eye, he yawned once more always hating that feeling after having a full stomach. Making the way back to his bed, Hiei shoved himself under the covers to try and understand why he was like this. He always felt tired. Hiei had planned to spend the rest of the day slowly training his body back to fighting fit, since he has felt his own energy has been decreasing these past few days. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him.

At first he had assumed that it was his injuries that had his energy levels decreasing, but that didn't seem to be it. Of course, it had helped, but it didn't seem to be the real cause of the loss of energy. Maybe it had something to do with these sudden attacks he gets when he is around other men. It was hard not to forget the strange feelings that would take control of his entire body when the scent of another male came close to him.

Even Kuwabara's scent made him shake, but not as powerful as being around the Fox or the Detective. Now that he thought of it, he only seemed to be affected strongly by males and not females. Yukina didn't act any different, nor did the old hag that lives here with her. However, judging by the way his body acts, it seems to affect both Kurama and Yusuke in a similar way as his own.

Rolling to his side, Hiei's eyes narrowed in thought as he tried to get all of these facts together in his head. Now that he noticed it, the Kitsune and the Toushin have been acting a bit strangely whenever he was around them. Just when he was saved by the redhead last night, his own body was back to the ungodly shivers that plagued his body, making him look like he was cold. Thinking back, his body had felt more hot than cold, which contradicted the way his outlook was.

The shaking only got worse when Yusuke arrived, and with both of the two strong males near him his entire body was trembling nearly twice as worse. The flare of heat within his body was so intense he could only hold himself to try and extinguish the flames within his self. The Detective and the Fox had definitely had a raise in aggressive natures since their last mission with that black fire beast.

Kurama wasn't as obvious, but it was still noticeable that he acted more protective around him. Yusuke acted similarly except he was completely obvious. Even when he was caught from falling by the strong Detective his testosterone filled state seemed to have melted into his voice when speaking to him. It was just confusing as to why his teammates were acting like this around him, and vise-versa.

With another angry growl, Hiei pulled the covers over his head to try and block out his raging thoughts, and his strange need to find his other two comrades. His body was now relaxed and he wished to keep it that way, as he stumbled into a light sleep to rest his thoughts.

~ O ~

Green eyes darted open, at the smell that washed over his senses. A sweet smell lingered in the air around him, as he sat up and raised his chin to sniff the air. A deep breath made his entire body ring with a pleasant tune. He had to get to the source of the smell at all costs.

A growl caught his attention immediately, making him look over at the ground a few feet from him. A green clothed man with raven colored hair pulled himself to his knees and looked over at him with a menacing brown gaze. It took a moment for the redhead to realize it, but this man was Yusuke Urameshi. What was he doing here?

The Toushin shook his head at the faint scent of blood that splattered over his body and the air around him. It was all overpowered by another scent that made him want to follow immediately. However, there was an intruder that was a few feet away and could smell the same scent as well. Blinking, Yusuke's eyes widened at the disheveled redhead just as bloody as he was, looking at him with a wide and curious gaze.

They both were silent, just staring at each other, daring the other to move. He could remember their bloodshed last night, it was gorgeous to forget about everything and just plain and simply fight. That was one thing that he knew how to do even before becoming a Spirit Detective. He had never felt more free in his entire life. The killing felt so natural, like his mind and spirit were at one. As a Detective, he was supposed to take down evil demons, and this felt no different.

Without warning, both of the demons in disguise leaped up and darted towards the direction of the wondrous scent. Now it was just a race to see who could get there first, and both were willing to take a gamble.

Pulling out a rose, Kurama charged his ki into it, turning into his signature Rose Whip. With a flick of his arm, it wrapped around the others leg, making him stumble and fall. With that head-start, the Fox ran ahead, pulling his whip back into a rose to put back in his hair as usual.

His eyes widened, when he felt a bright blue light emitted from his back and a burst of energy. Looking back, Kurama barely had enough time to roll out of the way as a large ball of energy darted right past him, and up into the skies knocking down any trees in its wake. Shaking himself out of the momentary daze, the redhead quickly got back on his feet and chased after the figure that managed to get ahead. He would not let him win.

~ O ~

The sound of running feet stirred the slumbering Dragon for him to wake up a bit dazed. What was all of that racket? Ruby eyes blinked into a lidded gaze, a bit angry that he was woken up from his light nap. What was the deal was the building on fire? It shouldn't matter, he was a fire demon, he could easily survive mortal's flames with ease. He'd be more concerned if it were a fire from the demon plain. They would be bad enough to cause a burn on him.

Suddenly, his door busted open, wood and glass splintering everywhere, making Hiei sit up with shock at what could be attacking him. His eyes widened as he spotted a familiar redhead and Detective rolling on the floor, wrestling and fighting one another. The smell of testosterone filled the air as both of the enraged men fought for no apparent reason at all. They scratched, bit, punched and kicked each other none of them letting up. "What is the meaning of this?!" Hiei yelled, trying to catch their attention. Why in the world where they fighting? This didn't look like a friendly spar, they looked like they were about to rip each other's throats out.

The minute his own deep baritone voice yelled out, a sinking feeling in his gut told him that it was a bad idea, as both of them separated and turned their gazes on him. A sudden blast of both of the male demons scent hit him hard, as he started to tremble once again. _"Damn-it!"_ He thought, as he saw both of them start to creep their way towards the recuperating demon in the bed. If they were to attack him, there would be no way he could defend himself. They both looked ready to devour him just from sight alone.

With an audible gulp, Hiei slid his body back slowly on his rump, until his back met a firm wall. Both Kurama and Yusuke perked up sniffing the air before turning their attention back on each other once again with a menacing growl. They both stood eyes never leaving the others sight, as they started to circle. "He's mine… Back-off!" Yusuke practically yelled, clenching his teeth and fists ready for a good punch.

Now that he was in the same room as the fire-demon it was nearly unbearable. Curse his sensitive nose; he could clearly smell the strong pheromones that came from the shaky demon in the room with them. Of course Yusuke could smell it too; he was surprised that he was able to catch a whiff of it when they were finished with their bloodbath out in the forest. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The Toushin must have trained his nose in the short time that they were out to firmly distinguish Hiei's particular scent. "No, Yusuke…! I won't let you have him…!" Kurama growled out, his body itching for a fight.

Thin black eyebrows furrowed at the conversation between the two heated demons. What did they mean by that? Both of them were covered blood, unsure if it was their own or each other's. Either way, it was clear what the intentions were. There were going to hurt him. Hiei jumped, eyes widened when they both went at it again, like two rabid dogs.

They both hit the floor with the sounds of tearing flesh and snarling filled the air. For the first time in his life, since his sisters kidnapping, Hiei was terrified. These two were fighting over him. Once they were finished, the winner would emerge and then go after him. He was in no condition to fight either of them. One good hit to his abdomen and he would be down for the count. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around his shaking torso in a protective gesture, wide eyes never leaving the bloody scrimmage of the two vicious demons.

"What the-!? Hey guys! Stop it! What are ya doin'!?" A scratchy voice rang up through the attack, as Kuwabara rushed in, Yukina standing at the doorway in shock. They had both heard the loud crash and went to go check out what had happened, hoping that Hiei didn't get himself hurt again. Gray eyes looked to the other side of the room to see a shaking figure against a wall in a very defensive position.

The two fighters separated, panting harshly as their glares bled through the other. "Leave them, you fool…" Kuwabara blinked, looking over at the smaller demon. Even from this distance it wasn't hard to see his shivering and feel the heat that radiated off of him. "They both have gone mad…" It scared him to see the tough little guy look so small and terrified. Even his voice seemed a bit shaky.

Yusuke jerked his head towards the source of the smell and voice, and lunged at him quickly. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Both ruby eyes widened from the ice and fire demon, a gasp coming from the dragon as he saw his leader leap after him. Kuwabara pulled out his Spirit Sword as he ran towards him to protect Hiei, but to no avail, there was no way he would be quick enough. Green eyes widened, at the sudden change in his rival's attention, immediately leaping after Yusuke in an attempt to bring his concentration back on him.

Managing to grab his legs, Kurama yanked Urameshi back to earth just feet away from Hiei's trembling form. Kuwabara stood between the little Dragon and the fallen couple, sword at hand. "Are ya crazy, Urameshi!? Why would you wanna attack Hiei?!" He asked although he wasn't expecting a response. He was glad that the Fox was quick on his feet. They were teammates; they were supposed to look out for each other.

"Kuwabara, you must leave them be." Another rough voice entered the room, through the broken door that the two demons destroyed. Everyone's gaze went to the shortest figure in the room, except for the Fox and Detective that is. Faded pink hair blew with the wind that came through the broken entry, as she stood there watching the two demons return to fighting one another wildly.

The tallest redhead blinked "Genkai, what do ya mean?! I won't just stand here and watch Urameshi hurt Hiei!" He hated the little Dragon, but he never wished ill-harm on him ever. Even if Hiei was fully healed and able to fight, he would protect him with his life; it was a part of his honor code to protect his friends.

"You moron! Neither of them want to kill the boy!" She yelled, knowing that only three of the five people were listening to her. The usual stoic redhead seemed to have cracked much sooner than she had expected. The Dimwit, however, already had her guess correct for him. It was a little unnerving to have those two roll around and fight like wolves over a hunk of meat. _"Hmph! Well I am not completely wrong."_ She thought sarcastically.

Genkai might be the wisest out of all of them, but that still didn't deter him from abandoning his teammate. With the way those two are fighting, if they were to stick Hiei in the middle of their scrimmage, it could kill him. "Well, I ain't movin'! I'm not letting them get to Hiei!" He said as he stood proudly between the two fighters and the tiny demon.

With a light chuckle, the elder spoke. "Then they will kill you. They won't kill him. I can guarantee that." She said as she made her way around the wrestling couple. "However, if you get in the way, both Kurama and Yusuke will kill you." A stark yell of pain came from the slick-haired leader as he was held under a golden-eyed Kurama. "Let's go, the winner emerges." She said pushing the taller male aside for full visibility of the youkai.

Hiei blinked, and shivered violently, when those menacing gold eyes met his own red ones. Kurama stood slowly, wiping a trail of blood that fell from his lip. He blinked, when he felt a hand grab his leg as he stepped forward, nearly stumbling. "I… won't let you take him…" Yusuke said with a snarl, gripping tighter onto the limb.

The Fire-demon noticed that this was his chance to escape. Pulling himself up to stand, he ignored his instincts to stay and see what exactly the winner would do to him, and flitted off into the forest. He had a bad feeling in his gut about what Kurama or Yusuke would do to him. Whatever it was, he had a feeling that they would hurt him, one way or another.

Both sets of eyes watched as their prize darted away into the forest, Yusuke growling as he sat himself up to try and give chase. Kurama ignored his rival and chased after the fire-demon. Hopefully, Yusuke will be slowed by his injuries obtained from the Fox, or else they could get into another fight, and this time it would end with death. The redhead didn't want to kill his friend, only incapacitate him long enough to take Hiei and end his heat so that they could all stop fighting.

Judging by the Dragon's current energy, he can't run for long. He will probably tire out either from overheating or from his injuries. Kurama growled when he felt Yusuke's energy spike and follow behind him a bit away. This wasn't good. He might be forced to use his plants to subdue his friend, the coward's way out. He knew that Urameshi would shun him if he cheated by using his plants instead of his own strength against him.

It is basic instinct; Hiei needed a strong protector, which is why his body is going through his heat. If he uses his plants, Yusuke would have the guts to challenge him once more, even after Hiei's heat is over. If he were to show his dominance and defeat him truthfully, then he wouldn't face him to fight again.

The Youko within him scratched at the surface of his mind, begging him to be released. Right now, his senses would be jumbled completely if he lets his Fox take over. He could accidentally do more harm to both Hiei and Yusuke if he allows himself to fall into temptation. Shaking his head, he breathed deeply, following the sweet scent of the pheromones to guide him to his prize.

Yusuke winced, as he forced his body to run as fast as he could. Yes, Kurama was fast, and Hiei was even faster. However, that slick smell of blood laced over the lingering scent of that delicious heat coming from the fire-youkai. He is injured. The only other thought racing through his mating-fueled mind. The only obstacle that went in-between him and his goal was another man's scent that made him thoroughly pissed. Kurama will not stand in his way.

~ O ~

The three stood at the gaping doorway in the room where the big commotion happened. Kuwabara wanted to chase after his teammates and teach them all a lesson for trying to harm Hiei. The poor little half-koorime looked frightened beyond belief, it was no wonder he ran. If he was in his shoes, he'd do the same thing. Having two S-class demons chasing after him, it was no wonder why he was scared. "I gotta save Hiei! Those two looked like they wanted to hurt him!" The orange-haired man yelled, as he gripped harder on his Spirit Sword.

"If you wish to keep your life, let them be. Hiei will be just fine." Genkai instructed, her gaze never leaving the direction that all three of the demons left in. "The only damage that they could possibly do to him is that he might not be able to walk properly for a few days." She chuckled softly, only imagining the stoic Fire-brat limping around her temple with a grimace on his face.

"What!? Are they gonna break his legs are something!? WHY?" He could only imagine how painful that would be. Why in the world would they want to do something like that, it didn't make any sense. "Well, I ain't gonna let them!" He boasted, as his Sword grew brighter and larger, running toward the forest and after his friends.

"Kazuma wait!"

A lovely voice cried out, making the tall redhead stumble, and turn to his beautiful ice-maiden. "Huh? Yukina?" He questioned, looking back into those eyes that reminded him so much of her secret brother that is out there in the forest against two powerful demons.

"Please… Let us trust Genkai's words. I believe that Hiei is not in harm's way. Kurama and Yusuke would never hurt Hiei on purpose." She spoke softly, making the sword master lower his guard, and immediately listen to her words. Maybe she is right; if he were to try and interfere then his own life would be at stake for no reason. He knows that Yusuke is very protective of his friends, and Kurama and Hiei are practically best buds. Was there really no reason to worry?

Lowering his sword, and letting it disappear in his palm. Kuwabara's eyes lowered to the ground in defeat, turning to look out at the forest once more. A rough sigh left his throat, as he felt like he had made a big mistake. However, he let it fall off of his shoulders with a slump in his form.

"Now that this is taken care of… Care to make any bets on who will get to Hiei first?" Genkai chuckled once more as she spoke.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter will be what you all have been waiting for.<strong>

**The big fight... Who will win?**

**Who will win the right to mate with the little Fire-demon?  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 7: Victory

**UPDATE: 1/2/15 - Happy Late New Year, Everyone!  
><strong>  
><strong>Hello, to those who have been keeping up with me and this story.<strong>  
><strong>Honestly, I have no excuse for not posting chapter 8 other than it was the Holidays and I had to work. Since I am in retail, it was the busiest time of the year, for those who can relate.<strong>

**I wasn't busy other than that, and I just wanted to enjoy Christmas and the New Years.**  
><strong>This story isn't going down, and I am well satisfied with the amount of reviews that I have received. It has nothing to do with those at all.<strong>  
><strong>So, please, do not worry. Now that the rush is over, I can go back to the simplicities of things, and get back to writing once more.<strong>  
><strong>Thank you to all of those who have reviewed and is keeping up with my story.<strong>  
><strong>See you in chapter 8!<strong>

**P.S. To one guest reviewer, Happy Birthday, dear. I will dedicate the next chapter to you, sadly, I have to use the "Guest" name since that is all I can see. Sad to say, I won't be posting it on your birthday, but I will try and post it as soon as possible, thank you for being a dedicated reviewer.  
><strong>

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><p>UPDATE: 1213/14 -Cool date, eh?

Thank you everyone who has reviewed for chapter 6 and asked for this story's continued existence.  
>I am very glad that everyone loves this story enough for it to continue.<br>Now, if you would like it to stay this way, please review, this is what keeps me motivated and happy to write.  
>Even if it is a criticizing comment, I don't mind, at least people are reading it and taking their time to write a review on how they liked it or didn't like it.<p>

Now, enjoy chapter 7, I am not too proud of this chapter only because I can't write fight scenes very well... but I still hope you all enjoy it anyways.

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><p>Panic.<p>

That seemed to be the only thing that raced through Hiei's mind as he ran. He was in danger. Two S-class demons were hot on his trail; what they planned on doing to him was unknown, but it wasn't going to be good. That much, he was sure of.

His legs were burning from sprinting to try and get away, but from the scent he could easily tell that both Kurama and Yusuke were gaining on him. It didn't make sense on why his body wouldn't obey him. He wanted to run faster, but with his injuries, every step brought a shock of pain through his spine. If he were to keep this up, his body would give out eventually and he would be caught.

Yes, he was faster than both the Fox and Detective, but they had more stamina than he did. Even after their fight, they seemed to be catching up to him quite quickly. Why they were chasing him, Hiei still didn't know. Were they mad at him? If they were then why did Kurama save him from the wolf beast that he encountered? So many questions rang through his already racing mind that it made his head spin.

No, it wouldn't make any sense why they are so interested in him so suddenly. No logical reason would sprout as to why they were so keen on harming him. Hiei had done nothing to them that he remembers, and from the previous encounters they all wanted him safe. Kurama had healed him multiple times even making sure to make his wounds were pain-free. Perhaps they didn't want to hurt him at all. However, the look in their eyes shown a form of dominance that he hadn't seen in either of them before. They were after something that he had, but he had no idea what.

Sniffing the air, Hiei glanced back noticing the mix of the two demons scent that were chasing after him. They were getting closer, and he was getting slower. His instincts were screaming at him to stop and allow them to catch him. As instinctual as Hiei is, he refused to listen to his bodily needs, and push himself to run faster. His entire body ached from the pressure of his injuries. He was sure to rip them open, once again, rendering himself useless and being forced to stop and allow those two to catch him. But he could try, at least.

~ O ~

Reaching a small clearing in the dense forest, Hiei nearly doubled over in exhaustion, leaning against a tree to try and catch his breath. Everything was a blur, all except for smell. His lungs heaved, trying to get oxygen into his tired body. He couldn't believe that he has become so weak in such a short amount of time.

His quivering legs gave out underneath him, as Hiei fell to his knees, pulling his arms out to catch himself from falling on his face. The only sound he heard was his harsh pants, intercepted by short gulps of his own saliva. The disappointment in himself was unbearable. How could he have sunk this low? He is an S-class demon, working for years to bring his abilities to this level. Countless hours of training to take control of his Dragon pet, all wasted. It wasn't difficult to feel his energy levels depleting over the course of a few days. Now, his ki readings were so weak that a mere C-class demon could easily kill him. Hell, even yesterday he had to be saved from a simple wolf demon. Sadly, he is only getting worse. What was wrong with him?

The sharp scent of another male hit him, making his eyes dilate thickly; his entire body shook violently. Hiei growled in warning, as he slowly lifted his head to look at the redhead who had caught him first. He would not go down without a fight, even if he was guaranteed to lose.

Kurama blinked, lowering himself to the ground trying to look as submissive as possible. Hiei was frightened, and standing over him wouldn't help calm him. "Do not fear, Hiei… Everything is going to be ok… I do not wish to harm you…" He started saying slowly, trying to get the tiny demon's attention through his words. Crouching to his hands and knees, the Fox crawled his way over to the shaking figure, making sure to go slow and watch his every move.

As soon as the tall demon spoke, the low-pitched growl rang into a high-pitch. The fire-demon crawled backwards until his rump hit the tree, making him accidentally let out a mix between a yelp and a snarl. Hiei shook his head, slowly letting his animalistic instincts take over. It didn't help that the strange smell that came from Kurama and the Detective was clouding his mind. He had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was that one of them were here, and he was trapped.

Golden eyes widen at the sound the smaller man had made when he touched the tree. Narrowing his gaze, Kurama slowly made his way over to the frightened figure. He watched as Hiei slid down to sit on the tree's roots, those hard-ruby eyes never leaving his. The growling grew louder and more vicious, the closer he got. Managing to get close enough for their noses to touch, Kurama closed his eyes and finally allowed his Youko to emerge.

Hiei held his breath as he was suddenly embraced by a tornado of pink pedals. They clouded his vision and sense of smell to only the Fox that was forming in front of him. His eyes widened as he saw those familiar silver ears perk up from red locks, that slowly gradient into gray. It was like the redheaded Kurama faded into the demonic Youko right before his eyes. His height grew, nearly towering over his tiny form, making him feel even more trapped.

The silver-haired Fox smiled softly at the demon in heat just underneath him. He was so close, but he wouldn't want to blindly rape him, he would gladly show that he was worthy. His perky ears lowered in submission, as he purred to show his affection. He would have to take this slowly, in order for Hiei to accept him.

The scent of the other male suddenly intensified, but it was the purr that jerked him out of his daze. Red eyes glanced to Kurama's ears to see that they were lowered to the sides, knowing that he was trying to show no harm. However, that still didn't make him lower his guard. The growling dropped, and was replaced with a deadly glare from those auburn eyes that never left the others.

The Fox-demon grinned, purring once more to show his innocence, daring to rub his nose on the others. This caused a low rumble of a growl to emit from the fire-youkai below him. He wasn't relaxed enough, and Kurama knew that forcing himself would only do harm to Hiei and possibly himself. Leaning back, the silver-haired demon tried to think of how to reach out to him.

Golden eyes widened, when his head hit something, making him freeze, his ears perking up in shock. "Don't you go any further…" Another male's voice rang in the air, and knew that it couldn't be anyone but Yusuke. Turning his head a bit, he could see the pointed end of his finger aimed directly at his head. The deadly Spirit Gun, all he needed to do was to pull that trigger, and he would be gone. The Youko flicked his tail in agitation.

"Toushin… Lower your weapon. I do not wish to kill you. Stand down." The Fox warned, standing up slowly as to not cause any more tension than necessary. Due to his height, he towered over the other demon, as he turned to fully face his opponent. The Spirit Gun still aimed directly at his head, it seems that he wasn't going to back down.

Chocolate eyes narrowed at the warning, completely brushing it off. "I ain't goin' nowhere…" With his pistol still aimed, he lowered his gaze to the object of his desires against the tree. It looked like the other was trying to seduce him. Although, from that angered growl that he heard from the tiny demon, he wasn't getting anywhere soon. "Now, you back off. Before I blow your head clean off your shoulders." The poor heated demon looked disheveled, and exhausted. He'd have to fix that when he skins this Fox alive.

Hiei blinked in shock when he saw the Detective appear. He didn't even hear him, nor smell him coming. It must have been Kurama's pedals that covered up every scent around him except his own. Even now, he couldn't smell out Yusuke easily, he had to deeply inhale in order to find his wondering scent lost within the pedals that littered his body and the ground around him.

It was a blur of movement, but Hiei could see it clearly. A thick thorny vine emerged from the ground, reaching for the Detective, but he was too quick, as he jumped to safety a few feet away. He retaliated, and leaped forward to throw a punch in the others face. Barely dodging, Kurama leaped away trying to create some distance between their fight and their prize. What was the point of fighting if Hiei was killed in the crossfire?

No words were needed, as Yusuke charged again this time his speed doubling from the knowledge that Hiei was no longer in danger of being stricken by his punches accidentally. The speed was nearly matching Hiei's, whenever he fought, it was astounding. The Fire-demon watched in awe, as Yusuke radiated a strong demonic energy; fist flew so fast that the human eye couldn't catch them.

Youko internally growled; he was barely able to dodge his opponent's strikes. If he tried to use his plants, he could get away, but also he could kill his friend if not careful. Most of the time, his plants had a mind of their own, and only used them against enemies that he wanted to kill. This was his lifetime friend, and leader of their little group. The last thing he wanted to do was to kill him.

That seemed to falter a bit, as a fist connected with his left cheek, catching the silver Fox off guard. His body flew back and his back hit a tree, causing the wind to be knocked out of him. Maybe he would be forced to use his plants after all. "Come on, Fox-boy, you ain't even tryin'!" The Toushin mocked, as he gripped a shoulder and rolled it to show off his prowess, probably to the smaller demon a few yards away.

Kurama grit his teeth, moving a fist to his swollen cheek to wipe off a bit of blood leaking from his lip. He stood, ki flaring in rage, as he glared at his leader. "I have warned you." Was all he said, before he reached into his flowing locks to pull out a single seed. With a flick in his energy, the seed immediately grew, as it engulfed his hand and part of his arm. He knew that none of his teammates had seen this, but he had used it before during his fight with Ura Urashima and his Idunn Box.

The plant grew wildly, as red roots sprouted everywhere forming into faceless mouths with sharp teeth, acidic drool leaking from them. The plant seemed to snarl, as if it had a mind of its own, and darted towards the cocky Detective, without Youko's will.

Yusuke blinked, at the strange plant that was headed his way, but braced for impact with a Shotgun stance. About five of those faceless mouths charged his way, so there was no way he could hit all of them with one Spirit Gun blast. Charging his ki, he shoved his fist forwards when they were just a foot away from him "Shotgun!"

Golden eyes widened, as a barrage of blue bullets came from Urameshi towards him. They were strong enough to decapitate the hungry mouths from their vines, and there were plenty of bullets left to spare, as they all flew directly towards him. Snapping himself free from the red roots grip, Youko leaped to escape the bulge of the energy bullets. Missing most of the attack, a stray bullet hit his leg, tearing off a good chunk of flesh from his thigh.

Kurama bit back a yelp of pain, it wouldn't look good for Hiei, and that would only make him seem weak in his eyes. Blood erupted from the missing flesh, as Youko stumbled back down to earth. Still standing, the silver-haired demon shrugged off the injury as much as he could, as pain rippled through the torn area. Any more hits like that, and he would be done for.

"K-Kurama…!" Hiei whispered lowly, ruby eyes widening in horror at his fighting teammates. This was so wrong. Why were they fighting like this? They will get themselves killed if they keep this up. Of course, Hiei is cold and merciless, but deep down he does care about his friends. The last thing he ever wants to see is any of them getting killed, especially from each other.

Yusuke perked up, and looked over at the voice that came from the demon in heat, but he growled with anger when it was the other male's name that left his lips. He was sure that Hiei would be impressed by that show of strength. Turning his gaze back to the silver-haired Fox, he took notice of the injury that he had obtained, and it only fueled him further. "You better back off, Kurama, unless you wanna die." The Toushin spoke, as he placed his left hand on his right wrist, showing off his usual Spirit Gun stance.

Youko growled angrily, at the smart-alecky demon. He is a king of thieves, thousands of years old, and he is losing to a young fool. Perhaps his age is getting to him, or maybe it is the fact that he cares about the Toushin leader. He doesn't want to hurt him, but at the same time, he doesn't want him to mate with the Imiko. His demonic pride wouldn't take that kind of blow, if he were to allow another demon to take something that he wanted. It was never in his nature.

To his dismay, Yusuke wasn't playing by his rules. He was solely relying on the scent that Hiei gave off, and not using the knowledge that he is fighting against a friend. At least he is showing a bit of mercy by not completely obliterating him on the spot. Even now, the Youko was being affected by the heat that radiated off of the Imiko, but he still was thinking clearly enough to know that he was fighting against a friend. Urameshi's line of friend and fight were thin because of the scent, and perhaps this was both Youko's weakness and Yusuke's strength.

Deciding to make a leap of faith, Kurama charged towards Yusuke, directly in his line of fire. It was do or die at this moment. He knew that he was going to fire at him, but he would take Yusuke with him. An array of vines swam around his arm and sharpened out from his palm into a sword-like weapon. The closer he got the bluer the Detectives light became on his index finger.

A roar of an explosion echoed through the quiet forest, making Hiei have to cover his eyes with an arm from the bright light. When the light finally dimmed, the fire-demon darted his gaze up to try and find his comrades. They were gone. Not a single trace of them was left. "Kurama…! Yusuke…!" Hiei yelled out, weakly, managing to stand with a grunt. He had to find them.

Hearing something from above him, he looked up to see two bodies descending down to earth. The first to hit the ground was Yusuke, then Kurama. Hiei darted his eyes from the two injured men. Kurama's clothes were bloodied and ripped, his beautiful hair soiled in red. He managed to sit up with a groan of effort, gripping his stomach and giving out a cough, which splattered more blood onto the ground where he lay.

Yusuke was not better off. "Sh-Shit…!" He cursed, as he was covered in lacerations, so badly that his clothes were nearly torn to shreds. Pieces of the thorny vine that Kurama had used were still stuck to his skin, never letting go and only going deeper with every movement he made. Hiei wanted to step between the two fighters, to end this horrid charade, but it was never his place to stop a fight.

Both fighters, shakily, got to their feet, their menacing gazes never leaving the other. If the Fire-Youkai didn't do something one of them would definitely die today. That he was sure of. Hiei watched in horror, as Yusuke pulled out his Spirit Gun, one last time. This time Kurama could hardly move to dodge it. This wasn't fair.

A glow of ki lit up Yusuke's pointer finger as he took aim with a shaky hand. "I'll kill you, bastard…" He growled out, keeping the weakened Youko in his sights. Taking a few steps forward, it was his turn to attack. With only a few yards separating them, he imagined that trigger and-

"Stop!"

Hiei blurred between Kurama and Yusuke, facing the attacker with arms spread in protection. "Alright, Detective…! You win! Now leave him be!" His body was still weakened, but he couldn't just stand there and watch his best friend get killed before his eyes. He'd never forgive himself.

The Toushin immediately dropped his hand, eyes widening at the heated demon that came between him and his opponent. His attention flew to the spiky-haired male, nearly forgetting about the Youko that stood behind him. Shaking his head, Yusuke pulled up a fist "I don't think so, not until he admits defeat and he stays away from you!" he growled out.

Lifting a thin brow in confusion, Hiei kept his position between the two fighters. "I believe… that I must concede defeat…" The Youko admitted, only to keep Hiei safe from harm. It looked as if Yusuke was prepared to go through the Imiko in order to get to him. If this was the only way to protect his friend, then so be it. Lowering his head, Kurama backed away and fell to his knees to show his surrender. He was not willing to put Hiei at risk. If he hadn't got between them, then he would have gladly died for him, but circumstances had changed.

With a grin of satisfaction, Yusuke put away his gun, and stood proudly in victory. He had defeated the famed Youko and will gladly take his prize with no remorse. "Ha!" He yelped happily, as he walked around Hiei to gloat in front of his opponent. He wondered, briefly, what had made him give up so easily. Before, they were at each other's necks just to mate with Hiei, now he just merely gave in without a second thought?

Kurama's ears sunk in defeat, as he glared up at the ego-boasting Toushin. Sadly, due to customs, he had to basically watch the winner claim his prize, as much as he hated to do so. It would set a permanent reminder to force him to stay away from both him and Hiei in the future. He could just walk away, but once the coupling is completed then both of them should return to normal. Well, as normal as one could be after something like that.

Chances are that this is Yusuke's first time he will be mating with a demon. Everything will be new and fresh in his mind, especially his instincts. It might take a while for him to calm from his dominant high. Possibly, after the ritual is completed, he will still be overly protective of the Imiko, enough to kill anyone who comes near. Especially, now that he has won against the Youko. Or, he might simply walk away from Hiei after he is finished, if that were to happen, of course he would be there to snatch up the leftover prize.

The fire-youkai shook his head at the gloating figure, the adrenaline fading in his body now that his friends were no longer in danger. Falling over to sit down, he huffed at how tired he felt all of a sudden. With closed eyes, he leaned back on his arms to hold himself up, as he kicked his legs out to rest them. This had been quite a day. For some reason his two closest friends had nearly killed each other. For what reason, all he could come up with was the fact that they just wanted to fight until one gave in.

As if coming out of a daze, Yusuke blinked at the scent that thrashed back into his senses. After the initial fight and finally showing his dominance through victory, he had nearly forgotten to claim his prize. Narrowing his gaze, dark brown locked onto the smaller male that was seated just a few feet away. Just from appearance, he looked tired and ready to collapse. Would he be ready to mate right now?

Deciding to test himself, Yusuke crouched and crawled over to Hiei. Firmly placing himself between the half-koorime's legs, he braced himself by placing his hands on the ground near the others hips. Now that he was this close, the scent was unmistakable. It was strong, and nearly made him drool just from that alone. Inhaling deeply, the Toushin leaned his head forward to forcefully push his mouth against the others, letting instinct take over.

Hiei was shocked at the boldness from the Detective. It was strange when he, suddenly, moved between his legs in such a provocative manner. He was just about to let off a growl in warning, when his mouth was covered by the others, stopping his growl, as his ruby eyes widened instead. His body froze; he has never been touched like this before. What in the world was happening to him?

Hiei snapped his eyes closed when he felt a tongue press at the seam of his lips, trying to force his way in. The scent suddenly overpowered his body, making him tremble violently, but at the same time a guttural and feral growl left his throat. He opened his mouth, in which the wet morsel gladly flew in, making Yusuke press down on him further.

The Toushin's eyes snapped open as pain overpowered his horny-daze for a brief moment. With a yelp, Yusuke pulled himself away from the tiny demon below him. With teary eyes, he stuck his tongue out and tapped a finger on it pulling the digit into his view. It was painted red, as he sucked the muscle back into his mouth to nurse the new bite he had received. It seemed that Hiei wasn't going to just simply roll over and let him do as he pleases. Typical, as this was in Hiei's nature.

Kurama's brow lifted for a moment, only to chuckle after realizing what had happened. Even when he is in heat, the little fire-demon was still all 'bite' and no bark. Hiei was tough, and wouldn't go down without a fight, that was for sure. Yusuke thought that he could get away with just simply forcing himself onto the Imiko, and didn't expect a fight. Sadly, he had another thing coming. It was a bold move to kiss him without expecting a reaction; maybe he would call his leader 'brave.'

With a stab at his pride at hearing the Youko laugh at him, Urameshi growled and stood up vanishing in an instant. If force wasn't the way to go, then he would follow with plan B. He had to try and coax the demon into mating with him. He remembered before when he saw Kurama trying to seduce him, he wasn't forcing himself on him at all. Perhaps there was another way to show that he is worthy to Hiei. From the fight with Kurama, it had proven to the demon in heat that he was strong enough, but maybe he also needed so show that he was caring, too.

The fear vanished along with Yusuke, as Hiei sat up. Glancing over at the injured Fox, Hiei crawled over to him to assess the damage. Now that the Detective was gone, he could finally try and help his fallen comrade. "Kurama, are you alright?" He asked softly, eyeing the still-bleeding injury on his friend's leg. He could care less where Yusuke went, in fact it would help that he wasn't here.

Perky silver ears twitched at the sound of the heated demon as he crawled closer. He knew that it was dangerous, but it still was nice to have him care so much about him. If Yusuke came back to see them like this, he could only shudder to think what he would do. He will enjoy it while it will last. "I am fine, Hiei." He said softly, golden eyes shown with care towards the tiny youkai. With his height, he really did look much smaller, almost like a child.

Strangely, Kurama's scent wasn't so powerful as before. He could still make out Yusuke's smell, but the Youko's wasn't affecting him as badly as before. Was he just used to it? At least he wouldn't be affected by those involuntary shivers that would annihilate his senses whenever he was around the Fox or Detective. His body seemed calmer, thankfully.

Sighing, and looking over the injury once more for good measure, Hiei slumped down heavily. "These past few days have been hell…" It still irked him that he didn't know what was truly wrong with his body. He first assumed that it was his wounds that sparked this strange behavior to sprout from the depths of his mind. This instinctual urge. His injuries were healing, and noticing before; his fever has definitely gone down to normal. Only now, he seemed to feel better, and start to recover from his 'episodes.'

"Hiei…" The deep baritone voice, laced like silk, spoke through the deafening silence of the two demons. Noticing the tired ruby eyes looking his way, he continued. "I understand that you are going through a lot…" It still brought a sting to his own demonic pride to sit by and merely watch the demon in heat in front of him without trying to claim him. If Yusuke were to come back and find him trying to mate with the other, he would gladly kill him instead of sparing him like he had.

A grunt in agreement came from the fire-youkai, as he stretched his arms out and yawned. What he wouldn't give to simply rest for a full night, without interruptions. Reaching a fist up to rub at a tired eye, he looked around once more, looking for the Detective in case he would return. "Do you know where the fool went?" Even as he sat there, he still felt a bit tense. Kurama's energy levels seemed to be on edge, for what reason, he couldn't tell.

Silver ears twitched, listening for any sound from the woods surrounding them. With a small whiff of his nose, he could smell the fresh scent of blood. He wondered what Yusuke was doing out there. He could tell that it wasn't an injury from their leader, but from another body. "Perhaps he is hunting, although I do not know why." He would be certain that since Yusuke won, he would be trying his best to mount the tiny demon next to him with every fiber of his being.

Perhaps the young demon did consult with his instincts. He must have known that it would be difficult to mate with the Imiko from force, so he is possibly trying to come up with a different way. From experience, the Youko has had much success in plain seduction, trying to entice the other into mating with him. However, if he doesn't show up soon, then he would take his chances.

"Why did he do that…?"

Kurama's ears twitched in Hiei's direction when he heard that soft voice ring out. Of course he would have asked about why their leader would suddenly shove his tongue down his throat. The poor Imiko was probably confused, and a bit frightened. It was easy to tell that this was his first heat, especially if he asked a question like that. But, it seems that Hiei doesn't even know of his current condition. "Well… Hiei I-"

Sadly, he'd have to wait for his chance to speak, since a figure leaped out from the bush. The raven-haired male had the markings of his ancestor tattooed on his skin, and of course the unmistakable hair that flew down to his ankles. With a solid gold glare, a vicious growl erupted from the Toushin, as he stepped closer to the Youko, daring for a challenge once more. He was too close to his mate.

The silver Fox's eyes widened at the growl, his ears folding back in a bit of fear, as he quickly scooted himself away from Hiei. He knew when he wasn't wanted just from the glare alone. Looking over the great leader, he noticed a few splotches of blood decorating his body. The culprit was a dead male deer that he held by its hind legs with one hand. He killed a good sized mammal with his bare hands. It was impressive to say the least.

Hiei blinked his tired eyes opened, when he finally noticed the strong scent of Yusuke mixed with blood. His entire body jerked in shock, when a loud thud of a body was dumped in front of him. Sitting up straighter, the Imiko crawled over to the carcass of the animal. No bullet holes were visible, so it just showed that Yusuke fought this beast with his own strength.

Sitting down, like a loyal pup, Urameshi watched the small fire-demon carefully. Would he accept his offer? That piece of venison was not easy to get, he nearly got impaled on one of those strong horns. He'd gladly allow the youkai to eat before mating if he wished, just as long as that Fox would learn to keep his distance. This was all for Hiei.

Placing a hand on the dead animal, Hiei paused for a moment. _"Is this all for me…?"_ he thought, as he looked up into the pleading golden eyes of his team leader. With a usual "hn…" Hiei smiled softly with his present that he has received. The meat looked nice and lean from the muscled deer, and was a bit hungry from seeing it. "Th-Thanks, Detective…" He stuttered, happily.

Those golden eyes glittered, as a wide grin lit up Yusuke's face. He has accepted his offer!

~ O ~

The crackle of a lit bonfire was the only sound in the quiet forest. Hiei waited eagerly for his deer to cook by the fire, keeping an eye on the bits of meat that were placed on sticks. Just the smell was enough to make him drool from hunger, and along with the Detectives scent, he had to swallow down the saliva building on his tongue.

Youko sat the furthest away from the fire, making sure to stray from the winner and his prize as they were seated around the light and warmth. His ears were folded down in irritation, and his tail was tucked between his legs as he watched Yusuke from afar. He had prepared this extravagant meal for his newest mate, and it was obvious that he was just showing off. The smell of food was getting to him, even though he could easily get a meal of his own, but it still brought on the hunger pains.

Urameshi sat close to Hiei, nearly touching sides with the heated demon. Right now, from the scent, his mate was hungry. He had a duty to feed him before he would claim him as his mate; his instincts were practically controlling him now. Starting slow, Yusuke wrapped a loose arm around the concentrated demon beside him, making him jump and look his way. With a soft smile, he showed his innocence with a straggled purr of his own. It wasn't as smooth as Youko's, as it was borderline between a growl and a purr. It was deep as it rumbled up from his throat to the shocked demon beside him.

Expressing his innocence further, he decided to test his boundaries, and push the limits. Slowly, he lowered his head to a soft sea of spiky hair, inhaling deeply. The scent alone made him quiver with a hormonal rush of need, his brain registering that this was his mate, and his alone. However, a stuttered growl registered slowly in his mind, almost not hearing it at all for a few seconds.

A few seconds was all it took, as Hiei jumped up a bit to snap any piece of skin between his teeth. He managed to snag a bite on Urameshi's neck, near his Adams apple, tasting blood from the new wound he inflicted. The yelp and whine didn't register to him, he just wanted some space, he was hungry, but that still didn't make him forget the shivers his body went through when he was touched.

Yanking back, Yusuke whimpered as he gently touched the tender part of his neck, which was now bleeding with a small cut from sharp teeth. His new mate was tough; he should be more cautious and listen in on the warning signs before he ends up hurt. He knew that he heard a growl, but didn't think that the tiny demon would act so fast. He would have to tread lightly when being around the fiery demon in heat; he still has his own instincts to follow.

Hiei shook his head, trying to straighten out his hair that was a bit flattened by the Detective, before going back to admiring the meat-on-a-stick. It almost looked ready to eat. He still couldn't understand why Yusuke was so keen on showing him affection. He knew that the earlier move was tender, filled with care. It made him a bit nervous to have the other man so close to him. What was he trying to pull?

With a sigh, Yusuke decided to leave the fire-youkai alone for a bit and check on his meal to see if it was ready. Reaching out to pick up a stick, he rolled it in his hand to see all around it. It looked good enough to eat, bits of the meat were blackened by the fire, but that only brought on the flavor of fire-roasted into the meal. It sure did smell good, that was for sure. Handing the chunk of meat over to the small demon, Yusuke smiled softly.

A light pink tongue darted out to wet his dry lips, as Hiei gladly took the offered stick. It was heavy, but not difficult to eat from, as he placed the stick horizontally on his lap and leaned down to bite into the chunk of meat. It was mouthwateringly delicious, as he promptly devoured the meal in front of him. It was a large piece of meat, so it would take him a while to eat.

Over the chomping of the food, Hiei heard a small whine come from behind him. Lifting himself from his meal, he turned to notice Yusuke eating a piece of meat of his own. Turning further, he saw the Youko had come a bit closer, his ears were flattened, and his eyes were begging to have some of that meat. He looked so hungry, almost like a puppy looking longingly at a snack.

Yusuke blinked, when he noticed his mate wasn't eating, was there something wrong? Looking over, he saw that he was looking at. Throwing his meal down, he turned around fully, a rolling growl towards the other man. What did he want? Why was he getting closer? It seems that he still didn't understand that this was his mate; he had won him fair and square. The Toushin's hair bristled further, nearly standing on end at the fury that sprouted from his body.

The Youko's ears lowered as he swallowed thickly, backing up a bit from the menacing growl that came from the leader. He couldn't help himself, just smelling that delicious meat was making him so hungry. It wouldn't hurt to beg for a bit of food. Yusuke wouldn't give him any, but maybe his newest mate will, Hiei was always kind-hearted when it came to friends.

Glaring at the corner of his eye, Hiei gave out a snarl of his own, making the Toushin leader stop and look at him with shock. He can share, they have plenty of meat. Crawling his way over to the silver Fox, Hiei placed the meat-on-a-stick in his hands. He knew better than to stay near him while Yusuke was here, for some reason, he would be very protective of the fire-youkai especially when he was near Kurama.

Youko's ears perked up at the offered meal, as his tail wagged with glee. Taking the meat, he gladly took a bite. Looking up, he saw the angered, golden glare from the Toushin, knowing that he couldn't say anything since it was his mate that gave him the meal. Eventually, Yusuke went back to his own, making sure to take another stick of meat to give to his hungry mate.

Taking the offered meal, Hiei grinned. Now everyone had something to eat. It wasn't fair that only Yusuke and himself could eat when Kurama was only a few yards behind them. With a sigh in relief, the fire-demon went back to his own meal.

* * *

><p><strong>Didn't expect Yusuke to win, did you?<strong>  
><strong>However, Hiei's heat isn't over yet. <strong>  
><strong>It is still up in the air on who will be the one to mate with him, however, it has narrowed down tremendously.<strong>

**How do you like this story so far? Review, I'd love to hear what you have to say.**


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